Summer Fun: The Zoo

Kids love the zoo, and it's a great summertime activity for the whole family. While it's fun to walk around and look at the animals, it's also a great opportunity for you to show your kids the awesomeness of God's creation. The next time you head off to the zoo, use these ideas to change your kids' perspective on their zoo visit.

• Before you go, look up some facts about your kids' favorite animals. Use these facts to point out the differences between the animals and the diversity of God's creation. For example, somewhere in my life I learned that elephants actually walk on their tiptoes. When we go to the zoo, I remind my children of this fact, and we always spend a moment in awe of how God made such a huge creature, and yet it balances itself on the toe bones of its foot.
• Before you go, create a scavenger hunt for your kids. Give them different challenges as you go through the zoo. Have them find three animals with wings or three animals with long noses. Have them look for the animal with the longest neck or the smallest animal at the zoo. Use the scavenger hunt to direct your kids' attention to how each animal is different and God made them that way so they could best feed themselves or protect themselves. Talk about how God made different animals to eat different things, so that there would be enough food for everyone.
• The zoo is a great time to talk about the story of Noah's ark. Ask your kids what they think life on Noah's ark was like. Remind them that the story of Noah reminds us that God always keeps His promises. You can also remind them that Noah and his family were saved from the flood because they obeyed God even when it seemed like it was a crazy thing to do. Imagine how many of Noah's neighbors and friends thought he was crazy.
• Use these verses to talk to your kids while you're at the zoo.
• Genesis 1:21 -- So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
• Psalm 104:24-25 -- How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number— living things both large and small.
• Don't forget to have fun and enjoy the day with plenty of laughter and joy.