My family & I visited the National Aviary in Pittsburgh during the Owl-O-Ween event this past Sunday.
This writer and her family were generously hosted by National Aviary, but all experiences and opinions are her own.
When we entered, we were given a map, info on the shows of that day, and also a scavenger hunt. We first headed to the penguin exhibit. The penguins were out and about, and we loved the Jack O'Lanterns through their enclosure. My son's favorite part was climbing through the “tunnels” to see the penguins closer up.
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We then headed to the craft room where my son was able to make an owl Thaumatrope which was like a little animation with paper and string.
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My son enjoyed that as well as playing the owl matching game.
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He also walked across some paper as quietly as a mouse without alerting the owl for a piece of candy. My son enjoyed all the available kids' activities.
We continued on to an Owl discussion, where we got to hear about and see up close one of the owls. We found that interesting and my son loved feeling the owl feathers.
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We continued through the Aviary to complete the bird scavenger hunt and enjoy the rest of the birds. My son really enjoyed searching for the birds on the hunt, and when he was finished, he got to turn it in for a rubber duck.
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As encouraged, we dressed the kids in costumes, expecting a Halloween trick-or-treat situation. While there were two areas where the kids were given a small treat, we brought a trick-or-treat pail (that wasn’t needed at all), and I would have liked to see more trick-or-treat stations throughout for the kids.
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Overall, we had a fun time. I appreciated that it was educational but fun for my son, so he didn’t even realize he was learning. I would recommend Owl-O-Ween at the National Aviary as a fun family outing.
For more information on upcoming events at National Aviary, please visit www.aviary.org.
