Duke has a lemur center

The Baltimore zoo is wonderful and has the coolest add on experiences! We got to hang out in a little room with their ambassador colony of penguins and pet their little backs and give them treats. They have similar experiences with the giraffes and otters and maybe others.

There's a zoo in Thurmont, MD (Maybe Catoctin zoo) and right across the street from it is a small aviary in the Cunningham Falls state park. There's also a zoo in Reston.

If you have an animal lover you might want to look into 4H. Kids can start at age 8. Here are the animal related options for Maryland. There are many autistic kids involved. You don’t need to live on a farm or have room for animals at home.
https://extension.umd.edu/programs/4-h-youth-development/program-areas/animal-sciences/

This is OP. Thank you for the suggestions! I should have said that we don’t go to roadside zoos or the like because of concerns about animal cruelty, so I’m looking for established zoos or animal experiences. I always check to see if they are members of the zoological society before we go.

There's a bunch of farms you can stay at
https://tinybeans.com/dc/overnight-farm-hotels-near-washington-dc/

Anonymous wrote:Hershey Park has a small zoo so amusements and animals in 1 place. I think they're closed until Spring though, but something to remember for later.

The VA Living Museum in Newport News is awesome. Not too far from the beach .

There's a safari park near Natural Bridge which used to be cool (animals walk up to your car), but like many mom & pop "zoos" they're temporarily closed, I think, for animal cruelty abd inhumane conditions.

Add to that Catoctin Animal Park. They may have been forced to shut down too.
...but keep checking back.

You are mixing up the parks. The Natural Bridge Zoo is the one closed for animal cruelty. The Safari Park is only closed for the season. It is a lot of fun for, sometimes too, close contact. You can roll up your windows if it gets to be too much. Be prepared to wash your car & if you feed the animals to vacuum it. There is a car wash right outside the zoo for this reason. In the past there was a walk through bird atrium too.

The Wilds in Ohio.
Make sure, when you look it up, it's the one in Ohio.

Chincoteague and OC?

Would a farm suffice? Not a day trip, but there's Frying Pan Park or Leesburg Animal Park or the Alpaca Farm, etc.

Hershey Park has a small zoo so amusements and animals in 1 place. I think they're closed until Spring though, but something to remember for later.

The VA Living Museum in Newport News is awesome. Not too far from the beach .

There's a safari park near Natural Bridge which used to be cool (animals walk up to your car), but like many mom & pop "zoos" they're temporarily closed, I think, for animal cruelty abd inhumane conditions.

Add to that Catoctin Animal Park. They may have been forced to shut down too.
...but keep checking back.

You may want to consider a farm stay in Lancaster. There are tons of places and many let you help with farm chores and interact with the animals.

What about the Baltimore zoo? It’s a day trip not an overnight but she can brush goats if she wants to, and touch a few of the farm animals I think. Not sure if they do it in the winter but you can feed the giraffes too.

We loved the national aviary in Pittsburgh but that may be too long a drive. You can meet a penguin and a falcon for extra money. You get to feed birds. That may be a few dollars for the cup of nectar, but not the big $. We went was about six years ago so check current reviews.

I want to plan a short trip (weekend or long weekend) for just me and my autistic 7 year old. Animals are her special interest, so I’d like to go somewhere where she can learn about an animal or see animals or something. Want a short drive and an easy hotel stay. Are there particularly cool nature centers near the beaches maybe? The aquarium at Va Beach? The one in Baltimore is too crowded. Any ideas appreciated.