Cleveland Metroparks Rainforest

CLEVELAND, Ohio - There is an opportunity to unwind after Christmas at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo's December Days on Saturday through Wednesday, Dec. 26-30, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

All December Days activities are free with regular zoo admission. There will be winter-themed crafts, cookie decorating and live music. Each day, there will also be special Meet-the-Keeper sessions in The RainForest and in the Wilderness Trek area of the zoo.

When it's time to warm up, the zoo's complimentary heated shuttle will deliver guests to the Primate, Cat & Aquatics Building to check out the gorillas, lemurs, snow leopards and more.

The elephants can be seen year-round in the state-of-the-art Elephant Care and Visitor Center along with naked mole rats and an African rock python.

The koalas spend the winter in GumLeaf Hideout and guests can visit the tropics with a walk through the RainForest - home to 600 animals and 10, 000 plants, and it's always 80 degrees there.

The Reinberger Learning Lab inside the Center for Zoological Medicine feature hands-on interactive exhibits, tools-of-the-trade, and views of surgical suites where visitors might sneak a peek at an animal health check in progress.

The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is at 3900 Wildlife Way and is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Online admission is $12.25 per person; $8.25 for kids ages 2 to 11; free for children younger than 2 and Zoo members. Parking is free.

Meet-the-Keeper Schedule (subject to change)