UPDATE: The key pictured below is (sadly) not mine. I had this link underneath it but somehow managed to delete it in the original post.
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When I was a little girl I had one of these magical keys. It opened up a world of information about animals for me and for anyone standing nearby when I used it. I used to take this key to the Detroit Zoo and also to the (now closed) Children's Zoo on Belle Isle in Detroit, MI.
When you put the zoo key into one of these "talking storybooks" a voice would start telling you all about the animal that lived in the exhibit that the storybook was near. It was such fun and a great adventure to go through the zoo looking for the storybooks. As far as I can tell the Detroit Zoo no longer has them but I did discover that interactive Storybooks have returned to the San Francisco Zoo. The photo below is what one of the old Talking Storybooks looked like.
I used to watch a Saturday morning TV show called Bwana Don. Bwana Don taught us about animals and he had a chimp named Bongo Bailey on the show. There were also cartoons. I don't remember the specifics, but I got my elephant key from him....what a treat it was!What ZOO memories do you have?
6 comments:
I don't think I have ever seen anything like that. So cute and too think you kept that key all these years. :)
*hugs*
Debbie
Oh my goodness!!!! I had a key just like it for the Oklahoma City Zoo! Such sweet memories it brings to mind!
Smiles,
Carol
Marie,
I didn't get to the Philadelphia zoo too much as a kid but on one visit I was separated from my family and a zoo employee shuffled me off to the "lost parents" house. It was a pint sized play area where kids would wait for the frantic parents to find them. I know I was upset about being lost but I also recall being so wow-ed by the things to do I almost didn't want to leave when my 'lost parents' showed up...LOL
Angie
I have a teenage zoo story. I had a new boyfriend and we decided to go up to Vancouver Canada on our second date. I was trying to look cute and flirt with this guy and we were looking at the Ostrich. I was leaning over the fence and this huge Ostrich ran over to me and grabbed my bracelet on my wrist and pulled me into the cage...no kiddin..true story. I was mortified!
This is a memory that's missing from my childhood...I've never seen such a thing. But what a great idea and talk about [magical] for a child. Is this a photo of your original key or one just like it? Thanks for sharing!
M.L.
Here's the original Detroit Zoo Key commercial.
http://detroitkidshow.com/Detroit_Zoo_Key.htm
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