Troubadourable folk buddies Simon and Garfunkel once sang that "it's all happening at the zoo," before retiring from music to live out their days serenely basking in the reptile habitat. Get happening with today's deal: for $30, you get a one-year family membership to the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville.

Partake in various photographic opportunities and real-time eye-pleasures for a full calendar year with a family membership, which covers two adults and all children 18 and under in the household. In addition to unlimited admission, members receive a variety of benefits, including admission to more than 100 other affiliate zoos nationwide, free parking, and discounts on a menagerie of zoo-wide affairs. The Gladys Porter Zoo is an intimate oasis that lodges more than 350 species of animals and more than 200 species of plants. Animal fans can saunter through four geographically-partitioned parks, which feature interactive opportunities such as giraffe feeding and free-style rap battling the reptiles. Other popular spots include the butterfly and bug exhibit, and a free-flight aviary where South American birds soar freely through the air. The recently opened South Texas Botanical Exhibit & Park provides plant-based entertainment complete with a playground and trees with animals mysteriously carved into their tender, bark-based underbellies.

Reviews

Fodor's gave Gladys Porter Zoo a favorable review, and nine TripAdvisors give the zoo an average of 4.5 owl eyes.

• This spectacular zoo is noted as one of the nation's 10 best small zoos. It has every animal adults and kids love to see, just in a small, well-designed layout. A family of 10 gorillas is so entertaining and fascinating that you may just want to sit on one of the benches and watch for a while. – Fodor's
• We were very impressed with the large variety of animals, many my husband & I had never seen before. – Canfamily_9, TripAdvisor