Someone already mentioned, but as a true Disney hater, I will say their safari at Animal Kingdom was super impressive. Easy trip.

Coastal Wilds in Frankford Delaware. interact with a bunch of animals and finish with a 45 minute otter swim.

Fantastic experience sleeping overnight in this tiger rescue!
https://www.turpentinecreek.org/

Anonymous wrote:Little Longears Miniature Donkey Rescue: https://www.littlelongears.org/want-to-visit/

I want to go there!

These are both local

Daisy Island Cruises- takes you to Chincoteague Island to see the wild horses swim

Sterling Hill Farm- mini highland cow experiences

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Amazon. We fed manatees at a rescue center, stayed at an ecolodge with birds, monkeys, capybaras around, fished for piranha, saw boas, pink dolphins, tapirs, and sloths on excursions. You can also do a cruise.

Would you recommend the ecolodge?

Different PP but we stayed at the Amazon Planet ecolodge in Peru. We were there pre-kids but talked about how much we wanted to come back with kids! My kids are still a bit young but I want to go back in a few years when they're closer to 8-10.

Little Longears Miniature Donkey Rescue: https://www.littlelongears.org/want-to-visit/

Other local options I don't think I've seen

1. Fairfax County fair, the first weekend in August every year. It includes exhibits from local kids in 4-H. Here is the info from this last summer: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/frying-pan-park/4-h-fair

2. Oxon Hill Farm: Run by the park service, so will likely need to wait until the government re-opens: https://www.nps.gov/oxhi/index.htm

3. Mt. Vernon (private, so not affected by the shutdown). They have a lot of animals on the estate, to recreate what it was like in George Washington's era. Every year at Christmas time, they bring in a camel as well. Check their calendar since they have certain times of the year with animal centric events too (like sheep shearing in the spring)

Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colorado, about an hour east of Denver.

https://www.wildanimalsanctuary.org/

I really want to stay at the wolf chalets at Parc Omega in Canada. Floor to ceiling windows right in the wolf sanctuary. Looks amazing!

https://www.parcomega.ca/en/nature-getaway/sleep-with-the-wolves/

What a fantastic thread. My kids are older now, but would probably still love a lot of these!

I know it's a stretch, but the best thing we did animal-wise was Japan. Sure, some of the animal cafes are a little rough around the edges, but most of them are pretty good-- clean, with healthy, captive-bred, well-socialized critters. Capybaras and otters were the stand-outs. Mini pigs were fun too. We only went to one cat cafe there, and a lot of the cats were visibly ill, so that left us feeling icky.

I think Galapagos is too much for a 7 year old, but start planning to go in a few years! I think 12 and up would be great, provided your kid's a decent swimmer. The snorkeling is incredible. The typical trip involves a live-aboard boat for 5, 7, or more days, and you hike and snorkel every day, then motor to the next island overnight.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get them interested in birding. Download the Merlin app from Cornell. It's very cool! You can identify birds by their sounds or from a photo. There may be birding classes from the Audubon Society or other groups.

We did a science fair experiment when my kids were that age where we suction cupped a clear feeder to our kitchen window, divided it into sections with different kinds of seeds, and tallied up what kind of birds ate what seeds. My kids loved it, it was the highlight of breakfast for a month, and it got them interested in different kinds of birds.

I love this so much

Anonymous wrote:The Amazon. We fed manatees at a rescue center, stayed at an ecolodge with birds, monkeys, capybaras around, fished for piranha, saw boas, pink dolphins, tapirs, and sloths on excursions. You can also do a cruise.

Would you recommend the ecolodge?

During whale watching in Tadoussac, Canada and saw SO many whales, including belugas and minke whales. That whole area (north of Quebec City) is stunning in the summer— so much green forest and wildlife. You can also go bear watching.

Penguin Encounter at the Aviary in Pittsburgh.