Science at the Zoo

We went to the zoo today, and the children's zoo has this really cool nature exchange where kids bring in rocks, plants, and shells they found and exchange them for other items in the store. My sweet daughter, only 3 and so observant, went in with her homemade nature collection box with 6 things: a blade of grass, a yellow flower, a rock, a stick, a green leaf, and a brown leaf a buggy chomped (all her descriptions). These were just things she found on our land. Well, she has to explain to the nature exchange guy where they came from and what she knew about them to get store points to swap for other nature. Her items were not that impressive, but the answers she gave to his questions impressed him enough to give her 200 points, way more than I thought she would get!

She used her points to get 8 rocks and 2 shells that matched so they could go together. What a great idea! She was so into touching everything and choosing the perfect items for her rock collection at home. Her favorite was a rock that looked like a heart. We loved this interactive part of the zoo. She even counted all 10 pieces as she placed them in her bag. I am such a proud momma of my smart little girl and so happy there are places like this that recognize children's curiosity in nature.