Spooky season is here! As temperatures cool down and days get shorter, Halloween comes creeping up each year. To delight in the tricks and treats this year, our Intensive English students enjoyed an afternoon at the Houston Zoo’s “Zoo Boo” event on a beautiful day.
Before setting out to explore the zoo, students and teachers relaxed for lunch at one of the zoo’s cafes. To celebrate the season, some Halloween-themed items were added to the menu, such as an ice cream sandwich covered in orange and purple sprinkles.
During lunch, students, teachers, and even some alumni joined together to plan out their time at the zoo. The group was excited to discover what animals they could see that afternoon…
In the meantime, some students walked over to the nearby Galapagos exhibit. Featuring penguins, sea lions, and an underwater tunnel to watch them swim by, the area was a great way to start off the afternoon!
After lunch, the rest of the students walked over to the pool where the sea lions were swimming around. While there, the zookeepers came out to feed the sea lions, and students watched as they ate their fishy lunch.
“In my language, we don’t call them sea lions,” one student said. “But I like the name more in English! It fits them better.”
After some time walking around and taking pictures, students saw the elephants eating their lunch. They were quite happy with their food, and the whole family was there! It gave students a great opportunity to watch these amazing animals up close, since the feeding area was right next to them!
Later, the group moved on to see the lions and lionesses. These were favorites with the students, since it can be hard to see them so close up. Students also loved getting to see the tiger, who was relaxing in the bright sunlight when they stopped by.
“My favorite animals [to see] were the lion and the tiger,” one student said at the end of the day.
After a few minutes watching the giraffes (and ostrich) walking around, the students decided to take a short break in the gift shop nearby. The zoo sells many souvenirs like t-shirts, stuffed animals, and water bottles.
Once they had seen everything in the gift shop, the students moved over to the rhinoceros exhibit! Like the elephants and sea lions, the rhino was also eating his lunch. Students watched the rhino eat for a while and were excited to take pictures with it in the background.
The zoo was decorated with lots of Halloween-themed items like pumpkins, skulls for Dia de los Muertos, festive orange and purple lanterns, and fun photo spots. Toward the end of the afternoon, each student had taken many pictures of the animals and decorations they had seen.
A few students were excited to keep exploring even after their friends and teachers had to leave. They still wanted to see the gorillas, chimpanzees, and zebras before heading home. The best news was that the students could stay at the zoo as long as they wanted - their tickets were good for the whole day and evening.
Thank you for reading, and Happy Halloween! Stay tuned for more fun social activities and blog posts coming soon!
By Hadrian Barbosa