The Times-Republican is giving Marshall County families a chance to experience the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines at no cost for children.
The free zoo week is June 21 though 27 and admission will be free for kids accompanied by an adult if they present an advertisement set to run in the T-R twice a week through June 23.
"This is an opportunity for the Times-Republican to give back to our readers and provide them with an opportunity to take their children or grandchildren to a quality zoo not far from Marshalltown," said Times-Republican Publisher Mike Schlesinger.
This summer Blank Park Zoo is celebrating its "Summer Down Under" with an increased emphasis on its display of animals found in Australia.
The baby wallabies, or joeys, in the Australian exhibit are quickly becoming the most intriguing animals in the entire zoo for visitors.
"It's definitely neat to see little heads sticking out of the pouches as wallabies hop along," said Ryan Bickel, director of marketing with the zoo.
Bickel said they have about 20 adult wallabies and eight baby wallabies which make up one of the biggest displays of wallabies in the United States.
Aside from the Australian animals, there are hundreds of other animals to view from lions to giraffes to fish and several different animal shows throughout the day. Bickel said the zoo currently has about 800 animals on exhibit.
"It's several hours of fun," he said.
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Contact Andrew Potter at 641-753-6611 or apotter@timesrepublican.com
