How to Woo at the Zoo
This Valentine’s Day (or any day!) celebrate with your beloved and 2,700 of your closest animal friends at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo.
Seal-ed with a kiss
No need for a romantic walk on a beach when you can take your date under the sea! In American Trail’s underwater viewing area, complete with dim lighting and the sound of crashing waves, you’ll have a front-row seat to sea lions swimming gracefully through the water.
Don’t miss the daily seal or sea lion demonstration to see how animal keepers train the Zoo’s pinnipeds.
Enjoy a treat with your sweet
What’s sweeter than love? Funnel cake, hot chocolate and ice cream! Stop by one of the food stands or restaurants throughout the park to share a sweet treat or toast to your future romance with a craft beer (ages 21 and over, please).
Love is in the arapaima
Head to Amazonia where things really heat up … because this habitat is modeled after the steamy Amazon River basin, with a year-round temperature of about 80 degrees! Impress your partner with these fun animal puns as you take a romantic stroll through the tropical rainforest:
- Can you f-eel the electricity in the air?
- You make me blush like a roseate spoonbill.
- You hold the mon-key to my heart.
Take a spin on the Conservation Carousel
Hold hands and have a laugh as you climb atop a naked mole-rat, giant panda or armadillo (just a few of the custom animals on the Zoo’s solar-powered carousel). Did we mention that the $3.50 you’ll pay for the ride will help save species? Romantic. Check. Budget friendly. Check. Saving the world. Check.
Redd is the color of romance
Visit Great Ape House or Think Tank to see orangutan infant Redd who is sure to make you smile as he climbs, plays and tumbles through the hay. Then, take a self-guided tour to meet these other “red” animals around the Zoo:
- Red river hog, Cheetah Conservation Station
- Red panda, Asia Trail
- Red-ruffed lemur and red-rumped agouti, Small Mammal House
- Tomato frog, Reptile Discovery Center
- Red-fronted lemur, Lemur Island
- Roseate spoonbill, Amazonia
Get naked … mole-rats
Love is as blind as a naked mole-rat. Seriously, have you seen one? It has to be true. Bonus: This colony is led by a (killer) queen. See them at Small Mammal House.
Give a last-minute gift
Valentine’s Day wouldn’t be complete without a special gift for the one you love, so make them blush with a plush. Stop by one of the gift shops around the Zoo to choose from a variety of cute, cuddly and strange critters, including giant pandas, sloths and komodo dragons.