The Riverbanks Zoo consistently wins praise in various publications for being one of the best zoos not only in the Southeast but also in the nation; therefore, I knew we had to take our two animal loving kids there. My family and I decided to plan a trip to Columbia, South Carolina specifically to see this zoo and check out some other kid friendly attractions in the area. I've ranked the attractions below in order of our favorites.
Riverbanks Zoo
500 Wildlife Parkway
Columbia, SC 29210
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Arriving to the Riverbanks Zoo on a rainy Tuesday, we easily found parking and headed inside. We chose to head to "Sea Lion Landing" first as there was an informative talk about to happen and the seating area was covered providing some shelter from the rain.
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There is something truly magical about visiting a great zoo that brings out the inner child in us all. Seeing these majestic creatures up close and watching their interactions is incredible. Being able to experience it through the excitement in your children's eyes is even better.
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At this point, the sun started to come out and the rain had thankfully brought the summer temperatures down some. The enclosures appeared spacious, yet you could still easily find the animals. We headed to see some our favorite "big" animals such as lions, tigers, and bears.
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There are plenty of cute photo opportunities with various animal statues throughout the park.
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The siamangs put on quite a vocal performance and acrobatic display.
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I was pleasantly surprised that we were able to see every single animal listed on the zoo map. Sometimes due to rain or heat, you aren't able to see one or two. Yet, thankfully we had visual access to several animals' inside shelter.
We got to the glass windows just in time for my daughter to announce, "Look Mama, here comes the Daddy gorilla!" Seeing a silverback gorilla up close is quite impressive and I'm always struck by the uncanny resemblance in interactions to us as humans.
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The Riverbanks Zoo has several attractions you can choose to add on to your admission that truly amplify the fun zoo experience. For $2 per cup of nectar, you can feed the lorikeets.
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Before entering, one of the zookeepers went over the expectations and rules. I have to admit I'm not a huge bird person, but I thought this was definitely one of the highlights.
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Having one of these colorful creatures land on you and watching them eat is a really cool experience. My kids and I have read countless animal books. We'll point to the pictures and say "bird," but being able to actually interact with one brings it to another level.
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We almost missed the "Koala Knockabout" tucked in next to the lorikeets. Look closely and you can see one sleeping perched in the branches. It didn't even look real. It could've passed for a stuffed animal!
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My daughter spotted the carousel, another add-on experience. I felt the ride was generous given the number of laps we were able to take; however, my two year old began yelling, "Go, go, go!" as soon as it came to an end. It was clearly a favorite for him, and we reassured him we'd stop back at the very end once we finished seeing the animals.
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The "Farmyard Experience" allows you to interact with various barn animals.
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There is a pretend cow to practice milking along with a tractor to climb and explore.
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My son and daughter both enjoyed brushing the goats.
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We saved the best for last as our final add on experience was feeding the giraffes. Heading up a stroller/wheelchair friendly ramp, you're able to be face to face with these creatures and feed them lettuce.
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The smiles on my kids' faces were so big as they felt the slurp of the giraffe's long tongue.
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There is also a train ride, a sky-high safari tree course, and a climbing rock wall that can be added on as other fun experiences. Next we headed to the "Kangaroo Walkabout" where you can get in the fenced area with these marsupials.
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While I didn't snap pictures of every animal we saw, the flamingos struck my interest as I recently learned an interesting fact about them. While raising their babies, they can lose their vibrant pink color but eventually gain it back as the babies become older and more independent. It draws a unique parallel to us as parents where we give so much of ourselves to our children. It can be incredibly hard and draining work, but yet it's not forever and it's one of the most important and special jobs we'll ever have.
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While I generally gravitate more towards being more excited about seeing land animals, the Aquarium & Reptile Conservation Center is not to be skipped! From the tree frogs to the seahorses, there was so much to see. The Riverbanks Zoo is truly one of the best attractions Columbia has to offer, and in my opinion, no trip to this city is complete without it!
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Leo's Landing Inclusive Playground
4401 St. Andrew Road
Columbia, SC 29210
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I can easily say this is hands down one of the best and largest playgrounds we've ever visited. For $5 per car, you can purchase a parking pass for the entire day, and watch your kids have an absolute blast!
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Since the morning had been rainy, we packed some towels in case we needed to dry off any slides and headed to check out Leo's Landing. It's beautifully manicured featuring bright vibrant colors with a rubber ground surface.
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The absolute highlight was the zip line course featuring both recumbent and disc seats. I can't even count the number of times we did the zip line. I wanted to install one in our backyard!
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If you feel like your kid is a monkey sometimes, they'll be right at home in this park, as there are plenty of structures to climb and explore.
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In some ways it felt like we'd stepped into the pages of a Dr. Seuss children's book.
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There are adorable little play houses, swings, and large Adirondack chairs.
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The owl figure is a free little library that was absolutely overflowing with books. If you look closely behind it, you can see another portion of the playground featuring more traditional aspects such as regular and spiral slides. I realized I got too busy playing alongside my kids that I stopped taking pictures. If we lived locally, we'd come here weekly for sure because it was that fun!
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Edventure Children's Museum
211 Gervais Street
Columbia, SC 29201
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Children's museums are always so fun, so we were excited to visit Edventure.
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We started off outside where there was various water play activities, tricycles to ride laps, gem mining, and even a plane to explore.
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Heading inside, you come to a large fire truck to explore.
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Inside there are jackets and hats to dress up like real firefighters along with a cool simulation experience. While pretending to drive the firetruck, it shows footage of racing down a neighborhood street.
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Next we stopped at the "World of Work" exhibit which featured a Publix grocery store and lots of realistic looking food. This was my daughter's favorite. When it was time to leave and we told her she could pick one final exhibit to explore before heading home, this was the one she chose.
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Eddie is a ginormous boy that sits in the center of the museum. You can climb up the stairs or take the elevator and explore the playground inside of him. You can jump in his brain, crawl around his eyes, slide down his intestines, and more. It's simultaneously cool and also a little gross. Perhaps because we visited on a weekday afternoon in the summertime, the museum was packed. Kids were coming up and going down at the same time, and I was worried one of my little guys was going to get kicked in the head, so we quickly hurried on.
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Stepping into "MedVenture," there is a life size Operation game. I loved this game as a child!
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There is a pretend ambulance, a doctor's office complete with a hospital bed and working scale, life size teeth, an x-ray machine, and more. Even the sink makes a noise like water is running when you turn it on.
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In the "Flight" exhibit my kids enjoyed sitting in the cockpit, pulling all the levers, and touching all the buttons.
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There was a space shuttle themed play structure they enjoyed sliding down as well. In full transparency, this visit was a bit stressful at points as both kids wanted to go in opposite directions and the place was packed. While they had an absolute blast, I don't think I could've survived taking them here by myself and was grateful my husband was with me. If we went back, I would try to aim to get there right at opening to hopefully beat the crowds.
Flight Deck
109 Old Chapin Road
Lexington, SC 29072
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In searching for family friendly restaurants, a lady in one of the Facebook moms groups recommended we try Flight Deck, an aviation themed restaurant with an attached arcade. It sounded super fun, and I knew my veteran husband would most likely be excited by the decor.
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Since we arrived a little bit before our typical dinner time, I suggested we check out the arcade first. While my husband went to figure out how to get tokens, my kids enjoyed pretending to play games.
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Only having $1 cash on hand, we were able to buy four tokens. I was actually pleased to find out how many games/rides were one token (25 cents). My husband was able to play "Blazing Angels," a WWII game.
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Our kids enjoyed riding this little plane.
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Finally, we headed inside the restaurant where there was plenty to look at from planes hanging from the ceiling, ships jutting out of the walls, etc.
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I'm not sure whether it was the excitement of our busy day coupled with having just visited the arcade, but our son was not having it. Sitting quietly at the dinner table was not happening. Our waitress was an incredibly kind soul who thoughtfully rushed out a wooden airplane for him to play with to keep him busy. Unfortunately he was dunking it into the honey mustard, trying to throw it, etc. Although we can laugh about it now, at the time, it was incredibly embarrassing and my husband took him outside while I rushed to get to-go boxes for our food.
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While the food was average, the desserts and service were both excellent! My Primo salad (Greek and chef mixed) was a little too salty for my liking, but I found myself helping my daughter finish her yummy chicken tenders and fries. We took a triple chocolate cheesecake to go and I regretted not having ordered two slices because it was so good.
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*Please note: The author and her family received complimentary admission to the Riverbanks Zoo in exchange for this article; however, all thoughts and opinions expressed are her own.
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