“Connecting Kids to Nature.” That’s our motto, mission, and excuse to have fun! The Lacerte Family Children’s Zoo is made up of four main areas: Discovery House, Nature Exchange, Woods, and Farm. Through these spaces, our staff and volunteers seek to : encourage discovery, inspire wonder, reward observation, affirm effort, build connections, and celebrate environmental and cultural diversity. Whether you’re a child or a child-at-heart, you are our guest in the Lacerte Family Children’s Zoo. Welcome!

Plan Your Visit

The following activities take place on schedule. Read on to make the most of your visit to the Lacerte Family Children’s Zoo.

• Pony rides—Yippee-ki-yi-yay, we’ve got rides every day! Our wonderful ponies Bubbles, Shania and Lil’ Joe are saddled up and ready to delight. Rides are available for one hour on weekdays and three hours on weekends. Summer Hours (daylight savings time): Weekdays 10:30 AM- 11:30 AM, Weekends 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM & 2-4 PM. Winter Hours: Weekdays 1-2 PM, Weekends 1-3 PM (Weather permitting) Cost is $2.00 per ride. For the health of our ponies, there is an 80-pound weight limit for riders.
• Story Time – Now hear this! Calling all ears! Story time is offered daily at noon in the Discovery House to entertain and educate. The Discovery House has some of the best books in children’s literature, and nice comfy couches for parents who could use a good rest.
• Animal Encounters—In addition to the crafts, books and games always available in the Discovery House, we offer animal encounters on the hour. Led by our trained and knowledgeable staff, you may get up close & personal with our toads, turtles, snakes, skinks, fish, spiders, mice and rats. Some of the creatures don’t mind your gentle touch. In fact, some are probably just as curious about you as you are about them.

Discovery House

It’s obvious; “Discovery” is what the Discovery House is all about. This place is packed full of fun things to discover and tools to help you discovery new things. Touch an animal, play a game, create some art, build a habitat, play with a puppet, work a puzzle, find out what animals make good pets. The Discovery House mission is to “Nurture children’s curiosity about animals found in and around their homes through fun activities and animal interactions.”

• Nature Play—Play is the language of children. Nature Play encourages empathy with animals. It allows children to ask themselves, “What would it be like to crawl like a turtle? Fly like a bird? Swim like a toad? In the Discovery House, children use colored cloth, hats, old clothes, boxes, paper tubes, and other materials to transform themselves into bears, lizards, maybe mountain lions, or any animal they choose. They’ll even find materials for building “safari tents on the Serengeti” or maybe a stable to house the “flying white horses.” Nature play is an imaginative and creative acting out of experiences in nature.
• Nature Art—Nature Art activities offer children opportunities to create visually creative things with nature themes. Reused, recycled, and natural materials are incorporated into all of our art activities. Children create imaginative interpretations of eagles, lions, snakes, and giraffes among other things. Everyone knows children are natural artists. Nature provides a wealth of materials to make art.
• Pet Care—“Can I have a dog? A turtle? A parakeet? A goldfish?” While there is no doubt that the exotic animals are the stars of the Dallas Zoo, a child’s pet is her primary interaction with animals. The Discovery House offers practical and educational pet care information, in addition to encounters with familiar fuzzy, scaly, and feathered friends.
• Butterfly Garden—Take a moment to relax outside the Discovery House on our benches and enjoy the Mina and Layla Butterfly Garden. Watch the garden full of nectar plants and you may see some of our local butterflies or even a hummingbird. Don’t forget to look closely at our butterfly food-plant garden to see if you can spot a hungry caterpillar or tiny butterfly eggs attached to leaves.

Farm

The Farm is a life-sized replica of a working farm, complete with a big barn, which houses horses, pigs, rabbits, guinea pigs, and chickens.

• Goat Barn—“Baaaaaa!” Hear the call of the tame? It’s coming from our Goat Barn. Children --and children-at-heart--will love the experience of feeding and brushing our friendly herd of Nigerian dwarf goats.
• Duck Pond—DUCK! Or, more accurately—DUCKS! Look for the little wooden bridge next to the goat barn to see our two duck ponds inhabited by beautiful mallard families.
• Demonstration Garden/Compost Corral—As part of our commitment to a better environment, we maintain an organic garden that provides treats for our animals. Tomatoes, kale, dill, rosemary, amaranth, lemon balm and sunflowers are just some of the goodies grown in the barnyard. The composting area offers step-by-step instructions on how to turn your leaves, grass and even newspapers into compost, the “black gold” that is nature’s free soil conditioner.
• Koi Pond—Beautiful, graceful, and always hungry. Our giant-sized fish tank offers a unique underwater view of the koi that make their home in the Lacerte Family Children’s Zoo. Watch them swim by, eye-to-eye.

Underzone

Pythons, mongoose and mole-rats…oh my! Take a trip “down town” and a subterranean look at some of our more fascinating creatures; most notably dwarf mongooses and naked mole-rats. Kids will especially enjoy burrowing through tunnels and popping up inside the dwarf mongoose habitat.

Tot Spot

Energy crisis! Your toddler needs to play. You need to sit—but you can’t take your eyes off him for a minute. Have we got the place for you! The Tot Spot is a clean safe place where small children can play and tuckered-out parents can rest.

Birds Landing

Walk through this interactive aviary and feed birds right out of your very own hand! Ground birds, birds in trees, birds in bushes, birds flying overhead…Wow! Hey, what’s that splat I just felt on my head?