Secret Zoo

The Richmond Metro Zoo is one of the best kept secrets in Virginia. Last November, I was visiting the Science Museum in Richmond and I came across a brochure with a beautiful tiger on the front for the Richmond Metro Zoo. My little girl loves tigers and I knew we had to put this on our list. The admission fees were low and it looked like a beautiful place to visit.

I asked a friend of mine who had family in Richmond, they had never heard of it. I posted an email on my homeschool list, and one person thought they had heard of it. I am thinking...is this place for real or not? I surfed the internet and the zoo does not have a website, though it is referenced under some Richmond pages as a place nearby to visit.

So in April, a fellow homeschooler and I decided to check it out. I have to tell you, this zoo is amazing! It is not huge. I think we pretty much saw the whole thing in 2 or 3 hours. But the price was very reasonable and the kids loved it. It was really the perfect size. The kids stayed interested and didn't get too tired of all the walking.

The coolest part as far as we were concerned was the fact that we could feed the animals. There were camels, bison, goats, ducks, geese, peacocks, ponies...all which would either eat right out of our hands or we would send the food hurtling down a tube for them to eat (the food was purchased at the zoo).

The part I loved the best was feeding the giraffes. We walked up a ramp that made us eye level with the giraffes. I had never seen this before. Then we took the pellet food in hand, held it out and those gentle giants lipped it right up and sometimes stuck out their very long tongue to grab the pellets. I was spellbound and could have stood there the rest of the day. But do be careful. Another visitor had their cup of food in the cupholder on their child's stroller, a giraffe found it and had wrapped its tongue around it trying to grab the cup and snack on all the pellets inside.

So, take a Saturday, load up the kids and go visit this wonderful zoo. I promise, you won't regret it!

It is a private zoo located at 8300 Beaver Bridge Road Moseley, VA 23120. The phone number is 804-739-5666. It is open Monday through Saturday from 9:30 am to 5 pm. Prices are $7.75 for adults, $6.75 for seniors, $5.75 for children ages 3-11 and free for children ages 2 and under.