The call of the wild is like a call from an elderly grandparent: though you can’t quite make out what’s being said, you feel better about yourself when you answer. Pick up nature's phone with today's Groupon to Johansen Farms Children’s Zoo in Bolingbrook. Children 23 months and younger are admitted free. Choose between the following options:

• For $7, you get weekday admission for two (a $15 value).
For $10, you get weekend admission for two (a $21 value).

All attractions are free with paid admission, except for the 25-cent cost of feeding the animals. Attractions include, but are not limited to:

• The petting zoo
• Hayrides
• All-ages corn maze
• Pony rides
Two-story airslide

Family-owned for three generations, Johansen Farms Children’s Zoo has captured children’s imaginations with pettable animals, kid-size corn mazes, and nonstop hayrides. Kids’ attractions sprawl across 7 acres, surrounded by a cornstalk fence line to corral kids and keep sneaky scarecrows out. From newborn piglets to full-grown steers, more than 500 farm animals jockey for the bristle-tousling attention of tiny hands. Pet the downy feathers of baby chicks or the soft coat of a woolly sheep before checking into Rabbit Hotel, where 200 or so rabbits with dreams of reality-show fame share quarters. Weekend visitors can saddle up a pony for unlimited rides or tackle the Noah’s Ark air-poofed obstacle course. Everyday attractions include an all-ages corn maze where kids can hone navigational skills, a two-story airslide where tots experiment with the forces of friction and gravity, and hayrides where fall’s crisp scents implant permanent nostalgia in everyone’s brains. Additional inflatables cater to the youngest set with scaled sizes and exclusive toddler access.

The farm also hosts an annual gathering of 25,000 pumpkins that spill out of the patch and into glowing orange piles, where they await selection from visiting families. Pumpkin prices vary according to size and temperament.