Asheboro’s North Carolina Zoo Offers Giant ‘Bug’s World’ Playground
asheboro, bugs, garden friends, north carolina zoological park, recreation, rod hackney, zoo,
Imagine living in a bug’s world where you can crawl up a giant spider web or slide down an oversized leaf. Such a world exists at the North Carolina Zoological Park in Asheboro.
Garden Friends – a play area with swings‚ slides‚ monkey bars and rope ladders – opened last summer to entertain the zoo’s younger visitors – and amuse the older ones.
“ It’s probably the most unique kids playground you’ll ever see‚” says Rod Hackney‚ the zoo’s public relations manager. “It helps to teach kids the importance of insects in the whole circle of life.”
The overall design of the playground resembles a giant squash vine that engages children in the wonders of nature. A 6-foot praying mantis‚ a 3-foot ladybug and giant bees add to the visual impact. Zoo volunteers enhance the experience by interacting with kids through puppetry and storytelling.
“ We wanted to involve kids in large motor skills and also give them some education in beneficial insects‚” says Loui Bradley‚ the play area’s designer.
The playground is one of the newest features of the sprawling North Carolina Zoological Park‚ the nation’s third-largest zoo in terms of land area. The 1‚450-acre park opened in 1974.
Hackney says the zoo’s size allows for exhibits that are more naturalistic. For example‚ the 37-acre African Plains exhibit features 10 species of antelope and is as large as many entire zoos.
The zoo also is home to polar bears‚ bison‚ alligators‚ elephants‚ giraffes‚ chimpanzees‚ zebras‚ tropical birds‚ and many other African and North American animal species.
The North Carolina Zoological Park is one of only two state-owned and -operated zoos in the country‚ attracting more than 670‚000 visitors during the past year.
Story by Noel Neff
Photo by Greg Emens
