It’s a beautiful day in Pittsburgh. The sun is shining, it’s a wonderful 75 degrees, maybe there’s even a slight breeze. We’ve been lucky enough to have quite a few days like this recently. But what to do on a gorgeous day like that? You could go take a dip in the pool like you normally would, or you could do something different. Go to the one place in Pittsburgh that never gets boring, no matter what your age is; the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium! 

For those of you that haven’t been to the zoo lately, you’re missing out. Not only does the park have a ton of animals, it also recently welcomed its newest addition, a baby sea otter and it’s a girl! The newborn pup was found orphaned off the coast of Port Heiden, Alaska. Port Heiden residents cared for the pup until the Alaska SeaLife center arrived. She was then transferred to the Pittsburgh zoo where she will be given care and be introduced into the exhibit. Now at any time between 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. you can come and see the baby as its on exhibit in the zoo.

The zoo has plenty of exhibits including the African safari, Asian forest, kid’s kingdom, bears, the PPG aquarium, tropical forest, and water’s edge. Each exhibit features different animal’s specific to the type of environment shown.

Growing up, the zoo was one of my favorite places. I loved seeing all of the animals, but my favorites were the sea lions. Partially because any animal that can live in water and land amazes me, and at that age, I was a little bit obsessed with marine animals. The other part was because it is right next to the kid’s kingdom area. I must admit, even though I’m almost 21 years old, I still enjoy the kid’s kingdom. So don’t be surprised if you spot me climbing up to go down one of the slides sometime this summer!

The zoo is a wonderful place to spend a day. It also helps educate our youth about the wonderful animals this world has and how we can help keep some of them safe from extinction.

So if you don’t have plans for Independence Day, make a tri p to the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium. All current and former military service people get free admission to the Zoo on the Fourth of July. Just bring your active duty military ID, your VA-issued veteran ID, or you DD-214 papers. Also, up to two people accompanying the service person receives $1 off a regular admission ticket.

For those of you that aren’t military service people and will be paying regular admission, don’t worry, it will be worth it.