Zoos offer a safe and informative haven to observe wild animals, which typically nest inside department stores behind an impenetrable fort of last season's paisley trench coats. Get a better glimpse with today's Groupon: for $7, you get one admission to the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore (up to a $16 value). Children younger than two always enjoy free admittance to the zoo. This Groupon expires on September 30, 2010.

Situated on 160 acres of Druid Hill Park and founded in 1876, the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore is the third-oldest zoo in the United States. Visitors (adult admission is valued at $16 on Saturdays and Sundays, and rates for adults, seniors, and children vary throughout the week) are welcomed into the homes of more than 1,500 birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles, representing nearly 200 species. For those worn out by the broken promises of a four-leaf clover, the zoo's newest exhibit features Panamanian golden frogs, considered lucky in Panama. In the Polar Bear Watch exhibit, late-blooming Arctic explorers can set forth on a tundra buggy to view Anoki, Magnet, and Alaska, the bear the state was named after, cavort in and out of the polar ice pool. In addition to exotic species, displays of local fauna can be found in the Maryland Wilderness section of the zoo, home to the Children's Zoo.

Experts field questions about the animals during 15-minute keeper chats, held daily at the African watering hole or the leopard-training demo, and at the polar bear, chimp, and okapi or warthog habitats. After sating your gnawing hunger for zoological knowledge, silence the voice in your stomach with a picnic lunch at one of the zoo's several open-air eating areas. For transportation to the bustling epicenter of the animal kingdom, board the free tram.

This Groupon is valid for admission only and may not be used for special events. Please present your Groupon at the admissions gate, because it is not valid for online ticketing.

Reviews

The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore received a good review from Frommer's and has been featured by the Baltimore Sun. TripAdvisors give it an average of 3.5 owl eyes, whereas Yelpers and Insider Pagers agree on a four-star average rating:

• The Chimpanzee Forest, Leopard Lair, and African Watering Hole are fun, but the best part is the children's zoo, with its lily pads, tree slide, farm animals, and Maryland wilderness exhibit. – Frommer's
• The zoo features an excellent Africa section, a good arctic section, and a fun swamp to venture through. – musicalsteve82, TripAdvisor
• This was the first zoo we took our daughter to. It has very nice animal exhibits, lots of places to eat. and several gift shops. She enjoyed getting to see all the different animals that she would probably never get to see any other way. – Walt B., Insider Pages