What to Do at the Zoo with an 11 Month Old

At that age, my daughter loved the lemurs / other small monkeys and the camels. She also liked the giraffes. She was also a huge fan of the farm animals. We have been regular zoo visitors (Lincoln Park) since she was 10 months old. She's now 26 months, and she begs for the zoo. She talks about the animals and the zoo all day long. Her daycare teachers honestly thought we stopped there daily on our way home! We go at least 2x a month.

(FYI - even though Lincoln Park zoo is free, if you plan to go and park more than 7 times in one year, a Zoologist level membership pays for itself. You get free parking year round. We've gotten our money's worth and then some...)

I took my son to Brookfield when he was about that age. They really don't get much out of it unless the animals are close. The kids that age really do like the petting zoo though. Don't worry about him pulling the animals hair. Those poor little animals are used to it all! He would probably really enjoy the dolphin show too. Even though my son didn't appreciate the animals as much, it was still good to go. It is great to get out and get some fresh air and exercise.

Hi,
I took my twin girls there at 11 months and they absolutely LOVED it. I did not take them into the petting zoo, I just thought they were too young to be petting the zoo animals. You hear about the diseases and all that some animals carry, so we didn't want to chance it that early. We pushed their stoller up to the fences and they could see everything just fine. They were waving at the animals and all. We also had their first birthday at the zoo, which was incredible. We are members, so we go to brookfield often, and they love it more each time we go there.
Have a great time!

My kids favorites were the underwater dolphin viewing area. If you can go when there is a show above it's even cooler. We also enjoy the penguins, family play zoo where they can pet the rabbits and such, the petting zoo is always a hit too. I don't think you need to worry about him pulling the animal's hair at the petting zoo. The goats are a little rambunctious at times though. Just getting him used to the place young will be great.

Your son will pull hair at the petting zoo, but the animals are used to it, and it can be a great way to begin proper animal treatment. He'll probably enjoy it. The dolphin show may be too removed, too far away for your son at this point. At that age unless they're up close and personal, they really have no interest. I took my son at that age, and we left after about an hour. It was too hot and he just didnt care. The park, or pool were more fun.