Apple Valley Tutors Come To You

Apple Valley, Minnesota, was deemed the seventeenth best place to live in the U.S. in 2013 by Money Magazine, which cited the city’s fifty-three parks, affordability, 2,000 restaurants within fifteen miles, and new rapid-transit bus system connecting to the Mall of America and other attractions. But animal and nature lovers know that Apple Valley is a special place because it is the site of the Minnesota Zoo.

Home to 4,700 animals representing more than 500 species, the zoo is spread across 485 acres and is open 363 days a year. Exhibits are organized into six themed areas as follows:

Wells Fargo Family Farm: Visitors experience what it’s like to work on a family farm, with activities like cow-milking demonstrations and goat grooming. The goal of this attraction is to show how farmers handle their responsibility to feed people while protecting natural resources and creating a balance with nature. There’s lots to learn here for Apple Valley tutors, teachers, and students.

Discovery Bay: Featuring the UnitedHealth Group Marine Education Center, Discovery Bay contains a 1.1-million-gallon tank for sharks, rays, and other marine wildlife as well as an estuary and hands-on tide pool. Visitors can watch Hawaiian Monk Seal demonstrations and shark feedings.

Northern Trail: This wooded trail features cold-winter animals such as woodland caribou, moose, Amur tigers, American Bison, Asian wild horses, and Bactrian camels. Kangaroos, wallabies, and emus will be joining the Northern Trail in the zoo’s newest attraction, Land Down Under.

Tropics Trail: This lush area focuses on the rainforest and its inhabitants and features lemurs, gibbons, monkeys, crocodiles, a tropical reef with colorful fish, and a butterfly garden at the end of the trail.

Russia’s Grizzly Coast: A half-mile trail takes visitors past sea otters, wild boars, Amur leopards, bears, and other animals from the Kamchatka Peninsula and Russia’s Far East.

Medtronic Minnesota Trail: This half-mile, indoor-outdoor nature walk puts gray wolves, river otters, raccoons, coyotes, puma, lynx, and other animals native to Minnesota on display.

Besides the main attractions, the zoo offers many amenities and sights for families, including a splash pad and playground in the central plaza; a 30,000-square-foot “please touch” area for playing, climbing, and experiencing nature; camel rides; an IMAX theater; the Wings Financial World of Birds show; and picnic areas scattered throughout the property. The Weesner Family Amphitheater, said to be the best outdoor concert venue in the Twin Cities region, hosts concerts under the stars from a variety of bands.

The zoo also puts on an assortment of special events for adults and separate events catering specifically to young professionals. Those needing a venue to rent can arrange to host weddings, birthday parties, meetings, and corporate events at the zoo.

The Minnesota Zoo is an amazing attraction for those living in Apple Valley and far beyond, truly a don’t-miss experience. Apple Valley tutors, teachers, and students who spend time at the zoo are sure to enrichen their learning experience within the biological sciences.