Lucy – the African Gray Parrot
Archive for March 2010
Mar
19
Watch LIFE
“We must not allow the clock and the calendar to blind us to the fact that each moment of life is a miracle and mystery.”
—H.G. Wells
When the extraordinary Planet Earth series debuted on TV in February 2007, it grabbed attention around the world. 65 million of us had a regularly scheduled date in the living room for 11 weeks in a row, and sat riveted by breathtaking photography and the miracle of nature. Shot in the fairly new medium of HD, it took us to places and allowed us to bear witness to things we’d never seen before. Everyone everywhere was talking about it — at the dinner table, via e-mail and around the water cooler (imagine, no one was tweeting yet!).
Starting this Sunday, March 21, Discovery Channel and the producers of Planet Earth bring us a new series called LIFE. Last night I was invited to watch a screening of the first episode, Challenges of Life, at the Landmark River Oaks Theatre, hosted by Target and BBC. It is a particularly dramatic theme: The instinct to survive inherent in all living things and their ability to adapt to sustain the species.
LIFE, Discovery Channel's new series to begin this coming Sunday night
Narrated by Oprah Winfrey, the visuals remain spectacular, the stories engaging and the educational value excellent. With this first ep covering foxes, whales, seals, reptiles, insects, plant life, primates, octopi, big cats, hippos and more, there is something for everyone. Standouts to me were the way a small population of common bottle nose dolphins have learned to teach fish to jump right into their mouths, the lengths that a strawberry poison dart frog mother goes to ensure her babies grow and thrive, and how a primate species use tools. With the latter, it’s at once uncanny and unsettling to see their arms and legs making the exact same motions as our own, and their faces frown and show the same exasperation as we do in learning how to wield a large rock as a hammer.
This strawberry poison dart frog is an immensely dedicated mother
All show considerable intelligence and drive that can only encourage new or heightened respect for the creatures we share the planet with. While these examples take place in exotic locales, it can’t help but remind us that to those who take the time to look, there is drama and spectacle going on all around us, all the time — in any tree or on a simple blade of grass.
It makes you think twice about burying yourself in your hand held device 24/7. Hopefully.
Overall, the subject matter is nothing short of motivating. Simply by making it this easy and appealing to explore the world we live in at a deeper level, the conclusion is this: We live in a gorgeous, fantastic, miraculous, wonder filled world. As the dominant species, we should and must do everything in our power to conserve and preserve it and all that lives. There is nothing like the awe inspired by a show like LIFE to jolt us awake to this fact, and fuel a passionate desire to honor and protect our forests, oceans, plains, and mountain ranges, and all of their inhabitants.
Now there’s something to tweet about.
So clear your schedule to again be enchanted, amazed and inspired, brought to you by mother nature… and the producers at BBC and Discovery Channel!
LIFE starts this Sunday, March 21, on Discovery Channel. It runs through April 18 and treats us to double episodes each time (8-10PM ET/PT). And stay tuned after the final show on April 18 for a special called, The Making of LIFE at 10 PM.
Written by Rochelle Joseph. Visit me at my animal and nature blog at:www.naturegirrrl.blogspot.com
Thank you to Discovery Channel and BBC for all photos but the dart frog from Michigan Science Art.
Mar
16
St. Patrick’s Day Green Animals
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Are you wearing your green?
Here’s a look at some Houston Zoo animals that show off St. Patty’s green every day…
Mar
12
Tips for Your Spring Break Visit
The sun is out, the temperature is lovely. Spring is upon us… and so is Spring Break. It’s a perfect time to visit the zoo. And lots and lots of people will be here. Below I’ve listed some tips to make your trip go smoothly.
PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS IN ADVANCE:
There tend to be lines on this busy week — but if you come with tickets, you can walk right in. And both gates will be open: our main entrance (the one off our parking lot at the edge of Hermann Park) and the West Gate off Cambridge (formerly MacGregor), right across from the Ben Taub Hospital.
You can buy Zoo tickets at the courtesy booth at any Fiesta (33 locations). PLUS you get a discount on the price: $9 for adults, $6 per child!
Buy your Zoo tickets in advance and at a DISCOUNT at Fiesta Marts!
The good news is, there is a Fiesta within 5 minutes of us — at 4200 San Jacinto. You can pop in there for tickets the day of, in leiu of our gates, and save $$ to boot.
BETTER YET, BECOME A MEMBER!
Become a member. Oh so many advantages to this one! First of all, it completely eliminates the need for tickets. And, there is a special Members Express Entrance at both gates so you can breeze right past normal admission lines. You get a 10% discount in the gift shop, discounted prices on many events like our fabulous Feast for the Beast, and any Behind The Scenes Tours and even discounts for your friends and families tickets. Because of all this, you’ll find membership easily pays for itself!
CLICK HERE right now to become a member on the spot, and see a full list of the benefits.
There will be a membership booth at both exits during spring break (3/12-21) so you can join upon arrival. TIP: If you’re thinking about this option for a spring break visit, I’d suggest you join online.
ARRIVE EARLY IN THE DAY
The parking lot can fill up quickly on a week like this, so coming early is your best bet. Not to worry though — here’s several alternatives:
CARPOOL
Get together with the family next door, your best pals, a group from church or school… BONUS: Be green and feel good!
USE ALTERNATE PARKING LOTS
1. Memorial Hermann Medical Plaza at 6400 Fannin. This is an large lot and so close to our West Gate. Start at level 6 and above. And there are 3 entrances off both Main and Fannin, just past Cambridge (formerly MacGregor). Take the elevators to Level One and you can be at our West gate in minutes.
2. Park Plaza Hospital’s Garage on Hermann Drive at San Jacinto. This is essentially on the other side of the park from the main medical center, east of the Museum of Natural History. You can enjoy a pleasant walk through Hermann Park (past squirrels, ducks, picnic benches and sparkling waters) to the zoo’s main entrance.
PARK ELSEWHERE AND RIDE THE RAILS
The METRORail is fast, clean, air conditioned and will drop you right at the zoo… Did I mention that it’s also FUN!?! Make it part of the day’s adventure.
1) Why not park downtown at any theater district parking lot? Then it’s a short few blocks to the Main Street Square stop. Tickets are available at easy-to-use kiosks right on the platform or can be bought in advance at most grocery stores (Kroger, HEB, Foodtown, Fiesta, etc) and other locations. CLICK HERE to find Metro ticket sale locations near you.
2) From the South, catch METRORail at the Fannin South Park & Ride lot, located at 1604 West Bellfort (between Knight and Fannin).
TWO METRORail STOPS SERVE THE ZOO
1) The closest is the Memorial Hermann Hospital/Houston Zoo stop at the Texas Medical Center — at Cambridge (formerly MacGregor) and Main. You can walk along the sidewalk on the Hermann Park side and enter through our West Gate in minutes. That is directly across from Ben Taub Hospital.
2) The stop past #1 is called Hermann Park/Rice U which is at the light of Fannin and Sunset. Walk directly across Fannin into Hermann Park. From there you can walk in either direction around the Park to either Zoo entrance gate. If you want to reserve your legs for zoo grounds, you can just cross Fannin and immediately find a stop for the charming Hermann train.
The Hermann Park Train
Board when it comes along and enjoy the short jog to Kinder Station, which is right at the Zoo’s Main Entrance. Those who board the train should pay for that ride at Kinder station. Tickets are $3 per person; children under 11 months free and $5 for all day rides.
CLICK HERE for train hours and more information about Hermann Park.
CLICK HERE for a METROrail map — this one is made to download to carry with you.
OR, HOP ON A BUS
There are several lines that serve the Houston Zoo, Hermann Park and the medical center area. Here is a list:
1 Hospital
2 Bellaire
4 Beechnut
8 South Main
34 Montrose Crosstown
26/27 Inner/Outer Loop
CLICK HERE for more information.
METROrail TICKETS
You can save $1 per zoo ticket when buying tickets at the zoo admission booths by presenting your bus or rail ticket.
While a METROrail ticket is only $1.25 per person, you can CLICK HERE to learn about some discounts for students, seniors, medicare cardholders and the disabled.
RIDE YOUR BIKE
If you live in the inner loop, this could be a nice way to get here. Reduce your carbon footprint, increase your exercise, and enjoy the great outdoors! Don’t forget that city busses have bike carrying programs if you are coming from further out and would like to tool around on your bike before and after your zoo visit. CLICK HERE for information.
A way to bring your bike from outer areas via the Metro bus.
Bike racks dot Hermann Park and there are be more around the attendant museums and medical buildings. There’s also one at the train station in Hermann Park and a smaller rack outside our west gate.
DOWNLOAD OUR APP!
Don’t forget to download our FREE iPhone App before you come. It will be a great help, telling you all about the animals you’ll visit (just added tons of new stuff) and eliminating the need for a map or checking our kiosks to find anything from keeper talks to rest rooms to ice cream! WE LOVE THE APP!
For more information, CLICK HERE and HERE
Written by Rochelle Joseph. Please stop by my animal and nature blog at http://naturegirrrl.blogspot.com/
Photo credit: Thank you to Fiessta, Hermann Park.org and RideMetro.org for use of the photos above.
Mar
09
Geocaching
How many of you have heard of geocaching? For those who haven’t it’s a kind of game that uses GPS coordinates to find cache containers filled with surprises, a grown up treasure hunt that turns the globe (or your neighborhood) into a giant Cracker Jacks box! Sound like fun? Our longtime volunteer Dale Martin, who is a fan, told me all about it.
First, I wanted to know what exactly everyone’s looking for. Cache containers are waterproof and durable — usually made of metal or plastic — and should be small enough to be well hidden yet large enough to actually be found. Translated, that means you’d be looking for something that could be the size of a pill bottle or a shoebox and anything inbetween. Each houses a log book where the player can leave their mark to let the next person know they’d been there; Most will also have little toys or gadgets that can be traded. Sound cool?
Here’s an example of a cache box and the kinds of things you might find in it. Note the log book in a ziplock to the right.
Of course seasoned players like Dale may want more of a challenge, so there are some searches that require you to solve a puzzle in order to gain the coordinates. Others might have coordinates inside the first container that lead you to another, and so on until you find the actual treasure.
The other end of geocaching is just as fun: you can put together as many of your own boxes as your heart desires and get creative about hiding them. There are universal guidelines to follow which can be found on this easy to use website: www.geocaching.com. If you become a member there (it’s free), they provide a datebase where you can list your cache coordinates so other members can start looking for them. If you click around on the site, it’ll tell you a whole lot more.
Fascinating! It just might make you look at things around you in a whole new way. Dale told me “People hide them behind street signs, under the lamppost bases in shopping center parking lots, in gardens, under rocks.” So the next time you park at the store or sit on a park bench, if you find yourself wondering if there are geocache’s nearby, this game might be for you!
“If you like things technical, this is a great hobby,” says Dale. “But also, if you like the outdoors, it provides an endless variety of locales and terrain to get around. It opens up a whole new world.. every where you go you think — this would be a good place to hide a cache!”
The guidelines state that none can be hidden in places that aren’t open to the public 24/7 or charge admission, therefore there are none exactly on the Houston Zoo’s grounds. BUT there are some close enough! It could be fun to combine your next visit with a geo cache hunt! Last we spoke, Dale said there are some in Hermann Park (up to a dozen), on the Rice University campus (approx 6), in and around the Texas Medical Center (check the above mentioned website for the most up to date information). I think Dale himself has been behind a few of those!
Whether you’re new to Geocaching or an old hand at it, do you think you can find them? Is this new to you or have you already played the game? Let us know in the comments area!
Written by Rochelle Joseph. Please visit my animal and nature blog at http://naturegirrrl.blogspot.com
Photos by Dale Martin
