Toe Jam Puppet Band (Various Locations)

The Toe Jam Puppet Band is typically at the Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford, MA every Monday at 10:30am and 12:30am.  It turns out that they do all sorts of shows and also have CDs.  Even though they have pictures of all sorts of outdoor events, the Buttonwood Park Zoo gives them a classroom size room for quite a little party.  This YouTube video seems old because the gray haired hippie now has a long goatee with several elastics in it, but this video definitely gives a picture of the party happening today.  VIDEO  The two main guys were accompanied by a young saxophonist and a young (I think) bassist.  The group as a whole seemed to be high energy dead heads, which was absolutely fine with us (I apologize for the oxymoron, but trust me, it works).

Today was absolutely pouring, and I was home from work on a personal day, so we took some time out from the day's drama and went to the Buttonwood Park Zoo.  We didn't have to pay the regular admission because we are members, but we did have to pay to be admitted into the Toe Jam Puppet Band's Benefit for Victims of the Earthquake in Haiti.  It only costs $5 per family and $2 per person if it's a school or daycare or some sort of large group, but we didn't see any large groups today.  100% of their profits today went to the Red Cross.

It's clear that there are some kids who go all the time, so they know that they should sit right behind the red line and stay in the little mosh pit of children for fun.  Our two year old wasn't quite ready for that, so we hung out in the back for a while and danced ourselves with a few other families who were doing the same.  Our 10 month old LOVED the music and was shaking her arms and head wildly when the a song's tempo sped up.

The routine of these guys is to show some transparencies of funny things (dragons, ants, silly people) on the wall and get the kids to shout.  They also have a bunch of songs that ask the kids to run in a circle like wild maniacs following the silly guy with the brown beard.  Our son joined in when the "host type" guy ran around with a little bubble maker during a song.  Our boy was then into it and separated from us.  Unfortunately, he ran right in front of the aforementioned guy with the brown beard, and the guy tripped over him.  Thankfully, he didn't crush other children, our son or the large bearded man.  Our son did get kneed in the back and wiped out, but he thought it was hilarious and continued to pretend to be an airplane.  The guy didn't seem annoyed at all that he wiped out while performing.  10 points for him!

They let you take carriages right into the room, which was awesome for our daughter.  There are also restrooms immediately outside the room that the band is in.  Maybe I have missed this in other places, but I was soooooo thrilled that when I went to change my daughter on the ladies' room changing table, I didn't have to balance her on my lap in a small stall to be able to go myself.  In the large handicapped stall, there is a tiny plastic seat, it looks like a little car seat.  I buckled her right in there, and I did not have to do some sort of bacteria ridden balancing act against the stall wall.   We have been going to that zoo for years, and I have never noticed that before.

We left the Toe Jam party before it was over because our son didn't understand when it would be his turn to play the instruments and wouldn't let it go.  Because it was pouring rain, we went out the side door and ran to the  aquatic center, a building right after the bears near the path to the elephants.  

Despite musty smell that lets us know that fish live in there, it was awesome.  We were alone, so our son moved the stools himself to check out the turtles, snakes, fish, and other animals.  There were also some birds that were flying around on their own.  Our son said, "Watch out daddy.  The bird's beak is very sharp!"  He was right, but we assume the birds were supposed to be "free range" because we have seen them on the loose before.

My husband and I agree that the Toe Jam Puppet Band at the Buttonwood Park Zoo is pretty cool for our kids, but we probably would not bring them during the summer unless we could be guaranteed that there would be no school aged children.  School aged children would surely trample the toddlers.

Harvard Museum of Natural History - Cambridge, MA

The Museum of Natural History was a HUGE hit with our two year old.  It was $9 for each adult and $6 for kids under three, so we got in for $18.  We parked very easily at a metered spot around the corner, and it was an easy walk to the door.  Unfortunately, we should NOT have brought the baby in the stroller.  There are tons of stairs, so people leave strollers at the bottom level.  The museum was WAY bigger than we anticipated, so our little 10 month old got pretty heavy by the end, and we cut it short.  It would have been better off with the bjorn.

There is a area to hang coats, which is very convenient, and our two year old was already going wild over the displays of vivid photographs of spiders and other creatures.  We had no idea how many cool bugs and huge displays of fossils they packed into that museum.  Because of the narrow hallways, we let our son walk on his own for most of the way, but he really couldn't get away (awesome).  The stuffed animals could really creep a kid out, but ours were fine.  If he couldn't name the animal, we read him the sign.

The full size fossils were so amazing.  There is one GIANT alligator looking thing that was absolutely overwhelming.  In that area, there was a museum worker who had us touch a fossilized shin and fossilized poop (jerk).  Our son was dumbfounded that the poop didn't stink

After the areas of all of the stuffed creatures, there is a huge room with a whale skeleton (and others) hanging from the ceiling.  There was so much too see, and the museum wasn't very crowded, even on a Saturday afternoon.  

It turns out that the Peabody Museum of Archeology is connected on the third floor, so that is free admission.  After leaving the minerals area that had giant crystals and meteorites, we went into a small area about the planets and found the restrooms that our son desperately needed.  He wasn't really into the (I think Egyptian) paintings, but when we got to the Mayan sculptures and displays, he loved them.  He called them "the castles" and asked if we were in one.  We could see that there was more to the museum, but without the bjorn, we had to throw in the towel, but we will definitely be back.

Roger Williams Park Zoo - Providence, RI

A trip to Roger Williams really isn't a quick visit.  It's a day trip.  Be sure to have a carriage, even for the toddlers because it is a LONG walk to get through the whole park.  If the kids get tired, you can skip the side path where the camels are, but even with that.  It's a big place for those tiny legs.  Be sure to pack food and drinks because the food there is good, but it isn't cheap and the food area can be crowded on spring/summer weekends.  Uncrustables and Fruitables are soooooooo easy to pack.

The General admission to the Zoo is $12/adult, $6/child (ages 3 - 12)and $8/senior (ages 62+); children under 3 are free.  In January and February, 2010: $6/adult, $3/child (ages 3 - 12) and $4/senior (ages 62+)  Still we go so often that we became members and paid $79 for the family.  We have gone WAY more than three times, so we made out fine. There are also a bunch of other places that accept membership for free or discounted admission (FULL LIST).

Parking is free but plan on it taking a WHILE to get a spot.  You may be tempted to follow the masses and drive through to the back parking lots, but if you arrive right before lunch time, you should get out of that crazy line and just check out the first parking area right in front of the flags in front of the zoo.  Many times families who didn't plan appropriately are hightailing it out of there, and you can get prime parking.

The giraffe/elephant areas are really awesome.  The giraffes come really close and our kids go wild for them.  They are also partial to the gibbon and the anteaters for some reason.

By the buffalo, there is an area called the wetland trails.  It's really a great end to the zoo visit.  It's also the area that is FILLED with pumpkins for an amazing Halloween event.

Overall this is a great zoo, but it is not a zoo that we can take the kids on a quick trip to any time of the year (like Buttonwood Zoo in New Bedford).  It's definitely a long afternoon if not a whole day, but worth it, especially during the spring/summer.

Buttonwood Park Zoo - New Bedford, MA

The Buttonwood Park Zoo is a perfect little zoo for babies and toddlers (maybe older but our oldest child is almost three, so that's all we can vouch for). The zoo is only 20 minutes away from our house, so we paid for a family membership that is $65 (family plus one adults guest), and we have more than got our money back.  Our son LOVES some of the evening events that we get at a discount because we are members, like Boo at the Zoo.  Some day we will go to the annual gala, but we haven't yet.

The elephants are really the big attraction, but there is a new cougar cub that my son can't wait to meet!

If the kids have any energy left after walking around the zoo, we go to the playground that is in the regular park outside the zoo.  There is a HUGE jungle gym on that rubber flooring type stuff, which makes wipe-outs SO much easier.  There are a few musical toys and of course swings and slides.

Also, outside of the zoo is a pond.  If you bring some stale bread or something, you can feed the geese and they coming charging at you.  Yes they do bite, so watch out.  We have not been brave enough to bring the kids actually out of the car to challenge the geese yet, but some day when the kids are taller than the geese, we will.

Parking is always easy.  We bring our own food (Uncrustables and Fruitables usually), but they have an inexpensive hotdog/french fry type setup that is easy and quick.  There are usually plenty of tables to sit and eat inside, but it's more fun to use the open area in front of the elephants for a picnic.

Ticket Prices:

• Adults: $6
• Seniors & Teens: $4.50
• Child 3-12: $3.00
• Children under 3: Free
• Parking: Free

Membership benefits include:

• Free Zoo Admission for one year
• 10% Discount at North Woods Gift Store
• Discounted Rates on Zoo Birthday Parties and select Zoo Programs & Events
• Invitations to Members-Only Events
• Special online notices of Zoo Programs & Events
• Reciprocal Benefits at more than 140 Zoos & Aquariums across the United States