{"id":70590,"date":"2016-07-04T07:34:17","date_gmt":"2016-07-04T11:34:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=70590"},"modified":"2016-07-03T22:37:14","modified_gmt":"2016-07-04T02:37:14","slug":"friends-of-the-zoo-supports-new-summer-projects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=70590","title":{"rendered":"Friends of the Zoo Supports New Summer Projects"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Rosamond<\/a>Friends of the Zoo, the Rosamond Gifford Zoo\u2019s non-profit support organization, has invested in several new projects and activities to further enhance Central New York\u2019s favorite family destination just in time for summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cFriends of the Zoo is excited to offer these new features and activities at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo. We thank our county partners for their collaboration and our zoo members for their support. We look forward to welcoming guests this summer as they try out our new nature play space and working sluice and take part in special activity days on Tuesdays and Fridays,\u201d says Janet Agostini, Friends of the Zoo President & CEO.<\/p>\n

Explorer\u2019s Play Space<\/strong><\/p>\n

As part of the zoo\u2019s strategic and master plan, a new nature play space located next to educational exhibit Explorer\u2019s Outpost compliments the fun school groups and families already have when visiting. Nature play spaces provide child-directed, unstructured play in a naturalized setting and encourage use of the senses, imagination and creativity. Nature play addresses the need for children to spend more time outdoors interacting with the natural world while encouraging stewardship of the environment. Elements of the play space were designed to utilize many materials already on hand at the zoo, including logs, stone, pavers and lumber.<\/p>\n

The space includes the following elements:<\/p>\n