Troubadour folk buddies Simon and Garfunkel once sang that "it's all happening at the zoo" before retiring from music to live out their days serenely basking in the reptile habitat. Get happening with today's Groupon to Reptilia in Vaughan. Choose from the following options:
- For $14, you get general admission for two (up to a $30 value). General admission for children ages 3 and younger is free.
- For $36, you get a Christmas Break package (a $79 total value) that includes:
- One Christmas Break pass granting general admission from Friday, December 23, 2011 through Sunday, January 8, 2012 (a $59 value)
- One photo taken with a zoo reptile (a $20 value)
- For $145, you get a one-week Christmas Adventure Camp for ages 4–12 (up to a $295 value). Camps take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the following dates:
- Tuesday, December 27, 2011–Friday, December 30, 2011
- Monday, January 2, 2012–Friday, January 6, 2012
Spanning 25,000 square feet of living quarters for coldblooded creatures, Reptilia houses more than 200 venomous and nonvenomous reptiles and amphibians, educating zoo-goers on all its creatures in more than 50 exhibits. General admission grants access to the zoo's many attractions, including star performers Induna, a 14-foot nile crocodile weighing more than 1,200 pounds, and a trio of eastern diamondback rattlesnakes. Spectators can watch the zoo populace chow down at four live feedings each day, as well as catch free shows live.
Christmas Camp consists of tiered programming for ages 4–6, 7–9, and 10–12. Recreational and educational activities strive to stimulate kids' imaginations, spanning zoo tours, arts and crafts, games, movies, and interaction with safe, well-mannered reptiles who graduated in the top 5 per cent of their finishing-school classes. Parents can supply tykes with a packed lunch, or purchase a lunch plan for $6.99 per day. Camp sessions last from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with drop-off starting at 8:30 a.m. and pickup extending as late as 7 p.m.
Reptilia
Spanning 25,000 square feet of living quarters for coldblooded creatures, Reptilia houses more than 200 venomous and nonvenomous reptiles and amphibians. Experienced keepers and handlers educate zoo-goers on the critters that make up the more than 50 exhibits, including star attractions such as a 14-foot king cobra, a red-footed tortoise, and Induna—a 14-foot Nile crocodile weighing more than 1,200 pounds. Besides expounding on animals’ eating habits during four live feedings each day, the staff also demonstrates the reptiles’ instinctive behaviors during live shows in an on-site theatre. Furthering its commitment to reptilian education, the zoo helps visitors overcome their irrational fears of snakes, spiders, and terrarium glass in a four-week course dedicated to phobias, and camp counselors guide Reptilia campers through science experiments, arts and crafts, and ecologically focused zoo tours.