Happening Place

And it's at the Zoo if you recall the word of Simon & Garfunkel's 1967 tune, so that's where we headed for granddaughter's 3rd birthday outing. 

The Roger Williams Zoo in Providence, RI is one of the oldest zoos in the country and located within the 40-acre Roger Williams Park. The park and zoo are named after the founder of Providence, a 17th-century proponent of religious tolerance. It's now home to over 100 species of rare animals from all over the world in naturalistic settings. 

Roger Williams Zoo, which opened in 1872 with a limited collection of small animals (squirrels, guinea pigs, rabbits, peacocks, hawks and others). The zoo's first building, the Menagerie, opened in 1890. By the 1900s, the facility began to spread out over the park, featuring a wider variety of animals including monkeys, bears and large cats.

Over time other new exhibits opened and in 1929, the Menagerie building was converted to a birdhouse; this was followed by the opening of an elephant house in 1930. In the 1930s, a new sea lion pool was constructed. 

It's now one of Rhode Island’s top tourist attractions hosting over half a million people annually from New England and beyond. 

By the mid-1960s, the zoo was showing signs of neglect and in 1962 the Rhode Island Zoological Society was founded to raise funds for new exhibits, improving old exhibits, and providing the groundwork for research, educational programs, and zoo conservation. It's still the non-profit organization that supports and manages the zoo.

Our trip to the zoo ended happily for both child and adults.