For centuries, the only way to see a polar bear and a giraffe on the same day was to ride a saddled giraffe all the way to the Arctic Circle. Watch climatological opposites coexist with today's Groupon to the Denver Zoo. Choose from the following options:

• For $12, you get admission for two (up to a $26 value).
• For $22, you get admission for four (up to a $52 value).
For $30, you get admission for six (up to a $78 value).

Ranked the No. 3 best thing to do in Denver by U.S. News & World Report, Denver Zoo hosts 3,500 different animals from more than 650 species, which blend with several interpretive exhibits. Sprawling naturalistic displays place animals in environments approximating their native habitats, giving a glimpse of exotic locales and diverse behavioral patterns. The Tropical Discovery exhibit boasts a 2,250-gallon pool teeming with piscine life and exotic turtles in a waterfall-lined indoor rainforest. Two prides of lions sprawl along rocky outcroppings in the lion kopje in Predator Ridge while African wild dogs, guineafowl, and spotted hyenas play a heated game of Yahtzee. Commune with ancient cousins in the seven-acre Primate Panorama, where chattering monkeys swing from trees while powerful gorillas amble freely about their one-acre exhibit.

Harness locomotive transport by taking youngsters aboard the Pioneer Train for $2, the first natural-gas-powered zoo train in the United States, which passes beneath century-old trees as it circles the carousel meadow. Families can also spread out a blanket and picnic together across from the enigmatic okapis in Sycamore Grove, or play patty-cake with long-necked ungulates in Giraffe Meadows.