HOW DID YOU SPEND MAY 23? That was, of course, World Turtle Day, and those who are fully starstruck by our shell-rocking ectothermic reptile friends likely committed at least a few minutes of that day pondering the always amazing world of turtledom. Maybe they paused to make a donation to a turtle rescue or perhaps some online videos were visited, both of the fable sort (turtle v. hare, natch) and the real-world awww-summoning variety (turtles eating, turtles sunning, one concerned turtle helping another turtle turn over). If you feel like you didn't get all the turtle love you wanted to get in on that day, though, there is time to still shower these chelonian superstars with more attention. The Santa Barbara Zoo has declared that Sunday, May 28 is Turtle Awareness Day, and the activities will be as plentiful as the beautiful bony bumps along a handsome shell. Well, perhaps not quite as numerous as that, but you will be able to...
JOIN A SCAVENGER HUNT... which is, as you might imagine, focused on all things turtle. There shall be an arts and crafts area that, yes, is totally turtled-out, and there will be turtle encounters, too, in addition to "a turtle painting demonstration." And will keepers be out and about discussing what turtles nosh upon, how they snooze, and they other details we turtle-obsessed humans need to know? Bet on it. Zoo admission gives you entry to all of this turtle-o-sity, which runs — er, ambles at a stately turtle-like pace — from 11 a.m. to 3 o'clock. By the by, the Western pond turtle calls the zoo home, so say hi to "California's only native turtle species" while you're there.
