Get up-close-and-personal to all kinds of animal life with these unique adventures.
Knott’s Livery Stable
Depending on the season, the Livery Stable can have different animals on display for kids and parents to get to know. But you can usually count on meeting and petting some of Calico’s horses — like Betty, Dave, Rocky and Fury — along with Brutus the burro. You may also happen upon some goats, sheep and adorable pigs. Chat with the equestrian team to learn about the animals. The Livery Stable sits in the center of Ghost Town.
Buena Park| knotts.com
Discovery Cube Orange County’s Sea Lab
The Discovery Cube Sea Lab is a new permanent experience featuring hands-on exhibits, including a shark and ray touch pool and a tidepool touch tank, housed on the first floor outside the Launch Pad Store. Children of all ages are invited to get up-close-and-personal with live fish, including sharks and rays, that they can actually touch while learning about what makes each inhabitant perfectly suited for their environment. The tidepool tank offers various ocean creatures like starfish and anemones, also for engaging, hands-on education.
Santa Ana | discoverycube.org
Ocean Institute Touch Tanks
The Ocean Institute offers two intertidal discovery pools featuring knobby sea stars, ochre stars, bat stars, giant pink sea stars, chestnut cowry snails, wavy top turban snails, Kellet’s whelk snails, warty sea cucumbers and purple sea urchins. The touch tanks are designed to imitate the rocky intertidal zone of Southern California. Kids can learn all about the adaptations the animals have to survive in their habitat, and can familiarize themselves with the kinds of animals that can be found right on the California coastlines. Don’t miss the newest addition: Sahm Family Foundation shark and ray touch tank. This tank is home to horn sharks, California round sting rays and shovelnose guitarfish. On Saturday afternoons, guests can also join the institute for a tank feeding presentation, where you can watch as the sharks and rays search the sandy bottom of the tank for food.
Dana Point | oceaninstitute.org
South Coast Botanic Garden’s SOAR — Tropical Butterflies
South Coast Botanic Garden’s popular exhibit, SOAR — Tropical Butterflies, is on now through Aug. 31 with hundreds of tropical butterflies inside the pavilion. Species include the blue morpho, owl butterflies, malachite, rusty tipped page, gold rim swallowtail, ruby spotted swallowtail, giant swallowtail, orange tiger and more. This year guests can also purchase the new Butterfly Feeding Experience and choose from a flower vial or ring filled with nectar to use while inside the pavilion to help entice butterflies to come closer for the most immersive experience. Tip: Wear bright colors to attract the butterflies. Note that while it is an immersive butterfly experience, if one lands on you — look but don’t touch.
Palos Verdes Peninsula | southcoastbotanicgarden.org
Aquarium of the Pacific Experiences
There are many ways to experience sea life up close at Aquarium of the Pacific. At the Shark Lagoon Touchpools, you can touch sharks and rays. At the Ray Habitat Touchpool, gently touch local species of rays like bat rays. At the Moon Jelly Touch Lab you can touch the moon jellies and at the Coastal Corner Touch Lab, gently touch tidepool animals such as sea stars and sea anemones. But it’s not all about ocean life, there’s also a Lorikeet Forest where you can walk through an aviary with colorful lorikeet birds. Guests can purchase a cup of nectar to feed the birds in the forest. If you’re looking for something a little extra, the aquarium offers an Animal Encounter: Sharks and Rays where you get to feed the bamboo sharks breakfast and literally walk among the rays in the touchpool to feed and interact with them. You’ll be with an aquarium educator and the animal care staff for this private encounter at the touchpools of Shark Lagoon before the aquarium opens to the public.
Long Beach | aquariumofpacific.org
Adventure City Petting Farm
Adventure City turns 30 in 2024 — and so does its Petting Farm. Families can visit with sheep, goats, chickens and even a friendly pig. Come by to hold a chicken or feed a friendly goat. Animal feed can be purchased with a Fun Card. It’s now open daily for summer until Aug. 13, and open weekends and some holidays during non-summer months.
Anaheim | adventurecity.com
Great American Petting Farm at the OC Fair
Great American Petting Farm is at OC Fair during its run through Aug. 13 with Bennett’s wallabies, alpacas, llamas, miniature zebu cattle, miniature Mediterranean donkeys, ducks, goats, chickens, sheep and potbellied pigs all ready to put smiles on faces. One of the wallabies even has a joey in her pouch! Animals are available for petting and feeding (feed available for purchase). The Great American Petting Farm is located near Green Gate.
Costa Mesa | ocfair.com
The Reptile Zoo
The Reptile Zoo offers a unique educational center full of reptiles, amphibians and arachnids from around the world. Some are rescues, while many were born at The Reptile Zoo, and others were from private collections. Guests learn about the animals with interactive displays and presentations, including learning proper handling techniques and basic facts about each animal. The interactive presentations include the chance to hold and interact with a few of their most popular animals, like the ball python, bearded dragon, sulcata tortoise, leopard gecko and others. They offer 15-minute presentations every hour on the half hour for extra interaction with a variety of reptiles for an additional $5 after admission. There are also opportunities to feed the fish and turtles in the 2,000-gallon indoor pond or feed the 100-pound tortoises their fruits and veggies. Plus, there are also private, longer experiences that are booked in advance (prehistoric-inc.square.site/s/appointments).
Fountain Valley | thereptilezoo.com
Tanaka Farms
Tanaka Farms’ Barnyard is home to chickens, donkeys, goats, sheep, turkeys, a pig, a pony and even a mini cow. The Barnyard Educational Exhibit is an experience where kids and adults can visit with the animals in a safe environment. Most of the Barnyard is made up of rescued farm animals who will live out the rest of their lives at Tanaka Farms. Also, on select Saturdays through the end of August, Baby Goat Yoga is a light-hearted yoga class designed for all levels — and of course, features baby goats. Participants must be 9 years or older.
Irvine | tanakafarms.com
By Jessica Peralta
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