Disney World, with all its showy, imaginative make-believe is truly a kid’s world.  And, they flock to it. 

But Florida has something more to offer kids – something natural, connecting, and equally magical, if in a different sort of way.    

In separate posts on Trusted Tours Travel Guide, you’ll see three of these – places where kids can see, smell, hear, and sometimes feel Florida’s unique natural habitat –golden sawgrass in the Florida Everglades, alligators lying ever-so still on cypress logs, gentle manatees moving ever so slowly, green, flat-laying tree frogs camouflaged in bright bromeliads, flamingos decked out in the brightest of pinks, roseate spoonbills rhythmically waving paddle shaped bills back and forth in the shallows seaching for fish, great white herons gracefully balancing in tree-top nests, stingrays swimming in an underwater ballet, great barracuda lurking territorially, giant sea turtles surfacing for air, and multi-colored tropical fish darting over coral patches.

Some of these can be seen in the wild; others are exhibited in special, kid-friendly, kid-scaled attractions that recreate natural habitats so realistically that they feel real. For kids who get so much information through the click of a mouse, it’s wonderful to see their response when they encounter the real thing, up close, whether in nature or in a habitat recreated.  The hope is that through these encounters children will begin to understand the special residents of Florida, whose numbers are dwindling as a consequence of development and human interference. 

The first of three The Real Florida for Kids features Lowry Park Zoo.

In the middle of urban Tampa, Lowry Park Zoo has created a very kid-friendly environment - and kids love it!  While it has all the big animals that attract people to zoos – white tigers, elephants, rhinoceros, monkeys, and even a rare tapir – its Florida exhibits are really special.   

Along shady, curved paths, in exhibit areas tucked in and among oaks draped in moss, saw palmetto, and natural-looking ponds, huge (grandfathers, surely) American alligators lounge in the sun. 

 Kids can pretend to be alligators too, lounging on nearby benches, just like the real alligators sunning just beyond in the very natural exhibit.

Box turtles and gopher tortoises; a young Florida panther rescued in the Everglades after having been abandoned; owls, wild turkeys and sandhill cranes; pink flamingos and Roseate spoonbills; red wolves, black bears, and shiny sleek otters – all are there to see, in settings as close to their natural habitat as possible.  In the Manatee Aquatic Center, a pair of Florida’s gentle giants can be viewed both from the surface of the water and beneath it!  There too, is the almost-motionless, prehistoric-looking alligator snapping turtle.  In Stingray Bay, amid much squealing and splashing, kids are instructed how to safely feed the stingray pieces of shrimp and fish.   

The pint-sized Discovery Center is a great little place, where kids figure out that frogs come in different sizes, shapes and colors so they can blend right into their surroundings.  Want to know what a bull frog or a tree frog sounds like? Hear it with a press of a button located beneath individual frog exhibits, coordinated with informative story boards.

Kids get really hot at Florida parks and zoos, particularly in the summer.  At Lowry Park Zoo, kids, especially the very little ones, love cooling off in the spouting fountains in the water play area in Wallaroo Station’s Children’s Zoo, where they are plenty of farm animals to pet too! Be sure to bring a swimsuit and towel for the water fun.

Let kids experience natural Florida…the real Florida.  It’s the best.  Look for the next two posts:  The Real Florida for Kids -The Mysterious Everglades and The Real Florida for Kids -The Amazing Sea Life of the Florida Keys. 

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