🦆 Hey geese, we’re swimming into midsummer! 🌷

The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore is just a 10-minute taxi from JHU, located inside Druid Hill Park. 🎫 Tickets: $33 (no student discount) – you can pay by cash, card, or Apple Pay at the entrance. 🕙 Summer hours: 10 AM – 4 PM. We arrived at 10:13 AM – mornings are cooler and less crowded. 🚗 You can rent strollers or carts at the entrance. Feel free to bring your own food and water (there are also restaurants inside). 🐾 Highlights: The zoo volunteers (especially the grandmas!) are incredibly warm, helpful, and kind 💖. Follow the suggested route: Start at the Central Zone (follow the crowd – it’s a natural oxygen bar! 🌿) Head to the African Journey (orange zone) – don’t miss the lion path! 🦁 Loop back to the central area, then explore the blue and green zones. Look for signs + ask red-shirted volunteers anytime! 🚂 Free mini-train rides (through part of the African zone) and a return shuttle from the central area to the entrance are available. 🦩 African Journey: Flamingos, elephants, giraffes, zebras, rhinos, and more 🐘🦒. There are educational displays about animal conservation – heartbreaking but important ❤️🩹. 🐦 Bird Zone: Walk into the net-covered aviary (one door at a time!). We saw a woman whispering “Good daddy!” – a father bird was feeding his family in the nest 🐦👨‍👩‍👧. 🦍 African Forest: Saw a female gorilla collecting cloth pieces to make a cozy bed 🛏️❤️. 🧓 Sweet Volunteer Grandma: We met a retired volunteer who loves the penguins most – she taught us that the ones with white face patterns are adults (there are four), and the rest are babies 🐧! She also guided us to the blue zone (bears & eagles) and green zone (Maryland native animals). 🌳 Green Zone: Cave area (reptiles & amphibians) 🐍 Tree zone with slides (perfect for kids and playful adults!) 🌲🛝 A cute suspension bridge (fun for cautious adventurers like me!) We caught the small train at 13:00 – the driver gave a fun tour along the way! 🐘 Overall: Great animal enrichment – little stereotypic behavior. Note: The flamingo and large animal areas can be a bit smelly 😅. #BaltimoreZoo #MarylandZoo #FamilyFun #AnimalLovers #SummerVibes #TravelDMV #ZooDay #Conservation #VolunteerLove 🐾📸