The National Zoo

                                                           The National Zoo

On my recent trip to Washington D.C., I was ecstatic to see the famed pandas at the National Zoo. It was a bit a of let down. The zoo, a popular tourist destination attracting a ton of visitors each year, was of course on the top of my list for things to do. I was greeted at the zoo by a light display showcasing their famous animals, like the pandas. While walking around the zoo, I noticed it was a little boring and just overall old. The exhibits are in need of a renovation and were bland, but some exhibits did have fun interactive activities like in the Elephant House and the Think Tank. The Panda Exhibit did prove to be very cool though. The outdoor part was large enough for the animals to wander around and relax. Since I was there early in the morning, about 8 a.m., I was lucky to see one of the pandas being quite active.  My favorite exhibit was the Amazon House, a gem in my eyes. It has a variety of animals including an arapaima. The house also included a jungle-like area, a research library, and of course a ton of other animals ranging in all shapes and sizes. Like most of the zoo, the food was only so-so. It should come as no surprise, too, that the food was overpriced. I would only rank this 3 out of 5 stars. The only things that saved this from being lower were the pandas and the Amazon House.