As Summer Grinds On, How About A Trip To The Air Zoo?

I'll spare you all the colorful prose about how this year is different,  blah, blah, blah. The kids have been home for what seems like forever. They've binged on pretty much every show you could find for them. You've binged on just about every show you could find for you. Time to put your masks on, squirt the sanitizer on your hands and venture out. And the gem on Portage Road known as the Air Zoo is a short drive away, and a welcome break from the status quo. Plus it's 51st anniversary of man walking on the moon. A great reason to follow up with the family.

The Air Zoo re-opened a couple of weeks ago with what they cleverly termed a "re-entry plan."

Air Zoo CEO Troy Thrash used an apt comparison. “This feels a little like what capsule re-entry from a space mission might” “We spent countless hours navigating the turbulence created by COVID-19, exploring and developing virtual opportunities to engage with the community in a new way while analyzing, planning, researching and executing new policies, procedures and experiences to safely welcome back our community when the time, and trajectory, was right."

Now, be prepared for the experience to be somewhat different, as the amusement rides and simulators are temporarily off-limits, but the Air Zoo staff has set up some alternatives to excite the minds of its visitors.

Here's some of the general changes due to Covid-19:

• The Air Zoo's new hours: Monday-Saturday 9am-12:30pm and 1:30-5pm, and Sunday 1:30-5pm. This is to allow staff and volunteers to deep clean and for breaks.
• Mondays are reserved for "vulnerable populations", as outlined by the CDC.
• The Air Zoo recommends buying tickets online.because capacity is limited. You can buy tickets at airzoo.org.
• Everyone, age 2 and up has to wear a Masks must be worn by all persons age 2 and up, at all times, while in the buildings.
• Everyone who enters has to have their temperature scanned, and anyone with a sustained temperature of 100.4 or higher will be asked to return another day.