Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in milwaukee, WI

Springtime at the Zoo

by Amy Jo Jones

May 26, 2009

As if the penquins, petting zoo, tigers, lizards and monkeys weren't enough. The zoo has some new creatures to see and touch starting this weekend. 

Wings From Down Under, a special exhibit featuring 1,000 birds commonly found in the wilds of Australia, opens this weekend. The three featured species include cockatiels, Eastern rosellas and grass parakeets split into two exhibit spaces holding 500 birds each. Be ready to mingle. Each visitor gets one seed stick, a Popsicle stick with millet clustered on the end for the birds to eat. This exhibit is designed to be very family-friendly. Here'a tip: Because kids like to wiggle, it's best for a child is completely still and hold out a food stick if they want a bird to land on them.Wings From Down Under runs through Sept. 7 at the Otto Borchert Family Special Exhibits Building.

A what cat? The zoo has four new male meerkats, members of the mongoose family from South Africa. The meerkats are on permanent exhibit in the Small Mammal Building.

For more information on Wings From Down Under or the new meerkats, visit the Milwaukee County Zoo's web site.