Panda-monium week for cub's first birthday
September 03, 2007 Filed in: Giant Panda
| Atlanta Zoo
The Atlanta Zoo has planned a series of activities, ending Saturday, to make sure this birthday doesn't pass unnoticed:
Monday, visitors to the zoo are welcome to sign a birthday banner, which will wave over the exhibit the cub shares with her parents, Lun Lun and Yang Yang. It will hang all week, giving folks plenty of time to write their best wishes on it.
The zoo also will have a daily series of question-and-answer sessions in which the people who look after the zoo's pandas meet zoo-goers who may be curious about Ailuropoda melanoleuca, the giant panda. The meetings take place outside the panda exhibit at 10:30 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. Mei Lan also will be given some sort of present — a toy, a treat, maybe both — every day.
On Tuesday, Paint the Panda, a series of panda-themed artwork submitted by youngsters across metro Atlanta goes on display. The exhibit, sponsored by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta and the zoo, featuring more than 75 paintings. It debuts at 6 p.m.
On Thursday, her birthday, the zoo has planned an 11 a.m. party for the cub. Humans get cake.
That evening, the zoo is hosting a sold-out reception focusing on highlights of the cub's first year. The gathering also features a special panda viewing.
On Saturday, the last day of the celebration, the zoo hosts Asian Sunset Safari, a 2 1/2-hour-long celebration of China, the pandas' homeland, and other animals of Asia. It's free for members and children under 3; $10 for nonmember adults and $5 for nonmember children.
Log on to www.zooatlanta.org for more information.
By MARK DAVIS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/03/07
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