Guide to Philadelphia: Outdoor Living

Philly's Insecterium is All the Buzz

If nature is your thing, Philly has a number of attractions for the family and nature enthusiasts. There's the Insectarium in northeast Philadelphia, which offers a fascinating, appalling collection of all kinds of bugs--from tarantulas to beetles to centipedes. Children can see a working beehive, scorpions that glow in the dark, and a whole colony of cockroaches. Started by an exterminator, today the Insectarium has one of the largest collections of butterfly and moth specimens in North America.

Go Wild at the Philadelphia Zoo

The Philadelphia Zoo, the first zoo in America when it opened in 1874, has more than 2,000 animals in habitats engineered to imitate their natural environments. Lions, panthers, mountain lions and tigers roam Big Cat Falls, while 87 kinds of snakes, frogs and alligators live in the Amphibian and Reptile House. This is a perfect place for families with children; in addition to the wild animals, there is also a children's petting zoo that includes a rabbit village and farm animals like goats and ponies. Kids also enjoy rides on the Zooballoon, which rises above the zoo up to 400 feet in the air.

The Zen of Philadelphia: Outdoor Gardens and Greenhouses

Botanical gardens are another important part of outdoor Philadelphia. The Morris Arboretum allows visitors to walk among 3,500 different species of trees and plants from around the globe. Depending on the season, you can also find a miniature railway winding though the park. Longwood Gardens is spread over 350 acres of flowers and greenery, including 4 acres of exotic and delicate species under the roofs of greenhouses and conservatories.

Source:
The Travel Channel