5 Reasons To Visit A Petting Zoo for Your Next Family Outing

Enjoy a Poconos Petting Zoo!

Gambler is one of our most curious and friendliest goats.

Planning a fun family activity for young children can be hectic and stressful. You don’t want to do anything too expensive and you want to make sure that it’s thought-provoking but varied enough to keep up with their sometimes short attention spans. Taking your children to a petting zoo fulfills all the above requirements: it’s fun, educational, and will be a lasting childhood memory that DOESN’T break the bank. Your son or daughter will love playing with the gentle and sweet petting zoo animals and will learn many important lessons from them while they’re at it! Here are a few reasons why a petting zoo is the perfect family activity.

Learn the Best Reasons to Visit a Petting Zoo!:

• Interact with new animals and learn their unique behaviors
• Learn compassion and courage as they interact with petting zoo animals
• Participate in a hands-on activity that involves almost all the senses
• Get outside and enjoy fresh air
• Enjoy a family wagon ride while you’re here!

Our chickens live it up in The Hen House.

1) Interact with new animals and learn their unique behaviors

Your kids may be used to interacting and petting the family dog or cat, but they may not have had the chance to really interact with farm animals like chickens or donkeys. Interacting with these animals allows them to learn about the unique behaviors of different species, how they socialize with one another, and the differences and similarities between them. For children, even just being near them can prove to be a fun learning experience: goats have weird looking eyes and donkeys have funny looking faces, and you had best believe your child will point these things out! In doing so, they’re learning observational skills.

Everybody gets thirsty sometimes!

2) Learn compassion and courage as they interact with petting zoo animals.

As adults, we take for granted that we understand that goats aren’t going to try eat us whole and that, though fun, chasing chickens around is a mean thing to do. However, children have yet to have the experiences that can be the basis for a greater understanding of the world. By interacting with petting zoo animals, your child will learn how to be gentle and caring with animals that are meek, like chickens and rabbits. However, they will also learn to be brave when it comes to petting animals like donkeys, whose size can make them intimidating for small children.

Mindy and Mandy are fluffy with their winter coats!

3) Participate in a hands-on activity that involves almost all the senses

Visiting a petting zoo will stimulate almost all your child’s senses as they see, touch, smell and hear the different farm animals. It’s one thing to know that a duck goes “quack”, but quite another to hear it in person! The sounds of the barnyard are certainly distinct. By petting the animals they can feel how soft a donkey’s nose can be and feel how strange it is when a goat licks your hand. Each and every interaction is unique. Don’t worry: we have hand sanitizer inside for when everyone has had enough fun!

Half of our barnyard area

4) Get outside and enjoy the fresh air

Whether you are on vacation, live in the area, or are just passing through, one thing remains constant: we’re all stuck indoors a whole bunch. Visiting a petting zoo is a great way to get out and about with children. Whether you’re out in the cold or the heat, the animals will be there for you to see and interact with, helping take some of that pent-up energy children have and expend it so the adults can have some rest later.

5) Enjoy a family wagon ride while you’re here!

If you’re visiting our Barnyard at The Ranch at Pocono Manor, a family wagon ride is the perfect addition to a day out. After spending time with the petting zoo animals, the whole family can enjoy a wagon ride with our horses. Wagon rides are not offered every day though, so be sure to book a family wagon ride in the Poconos and petting zoo visit today!