The North Carolina Zoo is the place to be Mother’s Day weekend! The Zoo will celebrate birds, blooms, bees and butterflies Saturday, May 11 with a variety of activities to promote education, conservation and fun from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Protect Our Birds will take place at the Forest Aviary focusing on finding a solution to plastic pollution with educational displays, activities, and crafts. “Bee a Good Pollinator” at the Honey Bee Garden will feature bee education plus tasty local honey for sale. Kidzone will host Butterfly Education Stations teaching what can be done to help these beautiful and important pollinators.
Students from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics will be in both the North America Plaza and Africa’s Akiba Market teaching about animal perception experiences.
For the first time the Zoo is hosting a Bioblitz, an event where scientists and citizens document as many species as possible in a given area within a set timeframe. Participants are asked to download the iNaturalist app before coming to the Zoo (search iNaturalist in either the App Store or Google Play). This is a very user-friendly app, which will allow participants to take a picture of an animal and upload it. If participants don’t know what kind of creature it is, the app will make recommendations. It will also allow others to provide feedback to determine the exact species.
Two guided Bioblitz hikes will also be offered. The hikes are limited to 25 participants per hike on a first-come, first-served basis. The 11 a.m. hike offers a walk along the Marsh to Solar Pointe. Participants are asked to meet at the North America entrance pre-ticketing space. At 1 p.m. participants will walk along Africa’s Hippo Beach after meeting at the Africa pre-ticketing entrance. Bioblitz and iNaturalist information stations will be located at both entrances.
On May 12, a one-day only Mother’s Day discount of $2 off will be offered to mothers accompanied by one paid general admission. Moms simply need to mention the “mother’s day coupon” at the admissions gate to receive the discount. Don’t forget to treat mom to a visit to the beautiful new Kaleidoscope Butterfly Garden!
On May 11 and 12, a plant sale will take place from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. in the North America Parking Lot. A benefit for the Zoo’s Horticulture section, the sale is a unique opportunity to purchase a variety of beautiful plants.
The North Carolina Zoo cordially invites you to the celebration on May 11 and 12. For more information, please visit www.nczoo.org