The Green House at Columbus Zoo

My husband and I took the kids to The Columbus Zoo on Sunday. We have been to quite a few zoos in many different states and this is one of our favorites and we will likely get season passes nexy year. The weather was a little rainy but we still had a great time.

My favorite part of the day was getting to visit Habitat Hallow.

My House, My Backyard and My Barn make up the fun and interactive area known as Habitat Hollow. As you make your way through the North American region of the Zoo, you will see large colorful letters describing the components of a habitat food, water, shelter and space.

What looks like a regular house from the outside is quickly transformed into a magical storybook world simply by opening the door and entering the foyer. Colorful, interactive exhibits are used to engage our youngest visitors, ages two to ten. Children may jump, climb, crawl and tumble as they explore the beauty of the marsh, forest and prairie habitats housed within My House.

My husband and I kept talking about how fun it would be to create something like this in our real home….something straight out of Alice in Wonderland.

The last portion of the house is much more modern but it still lives in harmony with the natural world. It is a “green” home. Each cupboard has two shelves and on the top shelf it has the posessions of any normal house but on the bottom shelf it has some “new” ideas for that space. The cleaning cupboard is a great example…on the top shelf you find Windex, Soft Scrub, Clorax Wipes, and Comet. On the bottom shelf you find vinegar, Bon Ami, Borax, Murphey’s Oil Soap, etc. The whole house is done this way from the compost bin at the kitchen sink to the Seventh Generation toilet paper and the clothes drying on the line outside. It also had a section to show kids what recycled materials get used for or what they turn into eventually.

It was a neat home tour and a great way opportunity for kids to learn. The house is used in several community education programs to teach kids about recycling, water conservation, and composting…among others.

It was an unexpected find and real treat.

[tags]columbus zoo, recycle, habitat hallow [/tags]

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