The651.com

Good morning everyone!  The651 is back with our wacky trivia question.  The first person to email stacy@capcitypartnership.com the correct answer wins, a FACES mears park gift card!  FACES mears park is one of Lowertown’s newest restaurants; they use local, organic, and sustainably farmed ingredients to produce their food.

For today’s question, please tell me what the meaning is behind these words.  Hint:  they all have to do with Saint Paul!

1)  Byki - a FREE language learning tool offered online at the Saint Paul Public Library

2)  Stone Soup Feeds the World -A new SteppingStone Theatre production opening October 22nd.

3) Asian Chicken Class - a new poultry judging contest with Asian chicken breeds at the Minnesota State Fair.

4)  Markisa - An Orangutan at Como Zoo who recently had a soap named after her.

GOOD LUCK!

Congrats to Matt!  He will soon be enjoying a dining experience at FACES mears park.

The Asian Chicken Class was probably the most confusing one for many, but I hope everyone had fun guessing anyway.

Thank you for being a fan of the651.com! See you next Thursday at 9 am.

Imagine a perfect summer day, being surrounded by hundreds of different species of butterflies, a whirlwind of color, and the scent of flowers in the air.  Sound amazing?  Well it isn’t just an imagination - it’s at the Como Zoo in the Blooming Butterflies tent, just steps away from the parking lot!

Inside view of the tent

Once you enter the 2,500 square foot greenhouse that resembles a caterpillar, you see a beautiful and eclectic array of butterflies,  along with different species of plants and flowers.  There are pamphlets to pick up at the entrance that define the over 100 butterfly species.  Did you know, a butterflies life span is only 2-4 weeks?   Have a buck?  Each day at noon, you have the chance to release a butterfly into the air for the reasonable price $1.

Outside view of the caterpillar-shaped tent

While inside, you are not allowed to touch the critters, but you will find they frequently like to use your shoulder as a landing spot.  With 300-500 butterflies roaming around at one time, your chances are good!  You can also observe them while they feed on watermelon and orange slices placed on stands throughout the exhibit.

A favorite to watch, was the Cairns Butterfly, native to Australia.  The Cairns is one of the largest butterflies, with a wingspan of 6 1/2 inches!  Cairns are colored a brilliant blue, neon green, bright red, and yellow.

Looking for a good date idea?  What’s more romantic that sitting in a garden with colorful butterflies swirling about.

The Blooming Butterflies exhibit is FREE, although small donation are accepted.

Blooming Butterflies exhibit

Open daily from 10am - 6pm through September 6th

Como Park Zoo and Conservatory

1225 Estabrook Drive

Saint Paul, MN 55103

(651) 487-8200

Buzz and Neil have landed, and no I’m not talking about Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong.  I’m actually referring to the two massive polar bears who occupy their new home a the Como Zoo!

The grand opening of the New Polar Bear Odyssey Exhibit was June 3, and I got a first-hand look.  I’m sure everyone who has been to the Como Zoo in the past few years remembers the old polar bear exhibit, and the two burly bears swimming in their pool.  Two years and $14 million later, they not only get to swim around, but they get to roam freely with rocky cliffs and natural surfaces surrounding their habitat!

Inside the exhibit, you can witness the polar bears up close behind glass as they romp and swim in the water.  If you want to know anything ab0ut the zoo’s resident polar bears, just ask any of the helpful staff members.  They love talking about Buzz and Neil!  Also, check out all the cool plaques with informative facts about polar bears in general.  Did you know when polar bears are newborns they weigh less than a bag of M&M’s?

For those of you who haven’t been to the Como Zoo in a while, now is your chance!  Not only is the polar bear exhibit unveiled, but a visit to the zoo is FREE   (small donations are appreciated)!  During the summer, the zoo is open from 10am — 6pm.

Como Zoo is a great place to spend a few hours and to check out all the cool activities going on all summer long, such as the beloved Sparky the Sea Lion Show that starts at 11:30am Monday — Saturday every week!

Babysitting? Nannying? Bring the kids to the zoo!  They’ll love it and it’s a great activity to get involved in.  even if the day is sweltering with heat, don’t fear:  the Splash Zone is a fun way to stay cool while splashing in the water sprays.  the Splash Zone is located in Como Town, which requires admission tickets.  Make sure to take the kids to the polar bear exhibit too!

For more information, make sure to go to http://www.comozooconservatory.org

While most Holidays are family-oriented by nature, New Years is kind of a problem for us. When I think of New Years Eve I mostly think of 3 things: formal attire, champagne toasts and a kiss at midnight. All of which more-or-less eliminate participation by children. And it’s further complicated by the fact that the grown-ups really, really want to go do those things by themselves anyway.

So we’ve always been at a loss for how to make New Years Eve at all relevant to our kids. Turns out 3 of our favorite St. Paul family institutions have their own solutions.

At the Ordway is Belle’s New Years Eve Ball - an event that piggybacks on the final weekend of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast at the theater. After the 2:00 matinee, families can join the cast of the show for a New Years-themed afterparty that includes music by Radio Disney, activities, food and an apple cider toast to the New Year at 6:00 PM (It’s midnight somewhere, right?). A few reasons why this seems like a good idea: First, its the last weekend of the show so if you haven’t seen it, now is the time. Second, It’s only $5 per person above the cost of the ticket. Call the Ordway Box Office at 651.224.4222 for  info.

Down the street, the Minnesota Children’s Museum hosts Sparkle-Rama, where kids are encouraged to get in the spirit by wearing their sparkliest clothes. Our kids aren’t really the sparkly-clothes type, but the event sounds awesome no matter what you wear. As with the Ordway event, there are hands-on craft activities and such, but one major difference is live music from children’s band Will Hale and the Tadpole Parade. The New Years countdown at this one is at 8PM, still early enough for the parents to celebrate on their own later. Call 651.225.6035 for more info.

If either of those are too late for you, Como Park Zoo has the cleverly named Noon Years Eve which takes place from 10AM to 1PM, with a “beach ball drop” to celebrate the New Year at noon. Kids can make hats and horns, take part in a scavenger hunt and dance to tunes provided by the Radio Disney Party Patrol (who presumably dash over to the Ordway afterwards for their party?). More info on the Como Park website.

See an emerald swallowtail at the Como Conservatory's Blooming Butterflies exhibit.

It’s not every day  you see shimmery green stripes peeking out at you from between the leaves. At Como Park Zoo & Conservatory, you’ll not only see the emerald swallowtail butterfly, but hundreds of other winged creatures flitting about, too. The exhibit, Blooming Butterflies, is housed next to the conservatory in a giant tent shaped, appropriately, like a caterpillar.

The tent, shaped ever so cleverly like a caterpillar, for the Blooming Butterflies exhibit. (Photo courtesy of Como Park Zoo & Conservatory.)

I visited on a cloudy, drizzly day earlier this week and it was just the dose of nature I needed until the sun comes out again. On my way into the tent earlier this week, a volunteer stopped me at the door for a briefing.

“Do not touch the butterflies—let them come to you,” the volunteer explained. “Be careful of where you step. Butterflies may be on the walkway.” With that, he opened the doors leading to a butterfly wonderland. On trees, on flowers, flapping their delicate wings in the air—these winged beauties were everywhere!

Some people came with cameras and long lenses (no tripods allowed), zooming in to snap off what were sure to be gorgeous shots. I spotted a butterfly (or maybe a moth?) called the small postman with its bright red stripes on each black wing, a giant swallowtail, and at least seven or eight other varieties, too.

The exhibit is still waiting for a shipment of blue morphos from  South America. They’re probably the exhibit’s biggest draw, understandably. I saw these giant, fist-sized butterflies for myself when in Costa Rica years ago and I can’t wait to see them again… a good reason to return to the exhibit (with camera) in another month or so.

What: The Blooming Butterflies exhibit runs until Sept. 7, every day, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Where: Como Park Zoo & Conservatory, 1225 Estabrook Drive, Saint Paul, 55103

Getting There: Find detailed driving directions to Como Park here.

Parking: There is plenty of free parking, though depending on the day and time of your visit, you may need to drive around a few times to snag a spot. Here is a link to a map of Como’s grounds an parking lot if you want to plan ahead.

I hail from a small town about an hour and a half north of St. Paul called Willow River.  A lot of my friends still live in the area and when we’re really lucky and really good with our calendar we can get our families together.  The stars aligned this past weekend and my best friend was able to come down to visit for a day with her two daughters.  When I heard she was coming I knew the perfect place to go with four kids in tow…Como Zoo!

We started our day at Como Zoo around 10 am meeting by the flamingos right outside the Conservatory doors, after that we spent an hour strolling (literally strolling two kids at a time) the pathways.  We saw everything from an adorable baby orangutan hanging on for dear life to his momma, to what I believe is the largest tiger I’ve ever seen.  From there we enjoyed the Sparky the Seal show, giraffes, sea lions and zebras.  By then we had worked up quite the appetite so we stopped into Zobota where we got the best park food I’ve ever had.  I’ve been to plenty of zoos and amusement parks in my life, but the food you get at Zobota’s is delicious and borderline gourmet!  I had the Hickory Burger after debating if I should get it or the San Antonio Club sandwich, which was topped with a chipotle mayonnaise sauce.  As you can probably tell, I’m still wondering if I made the right choice, I guess I’ll just have to go back and compare!  My girlfriend got a freshly topped salad that was so big, it was falling over the sides. On another note, Zobota’s also offers free wireless, which I didn’t use, but I thought it was a cool feature.

Now, hind sight is 20/20, but I probably should have hit up Como Town and all the fun rides there with the kids before lunch.  There were no catastrophes though, so, we’re safe!  But seriously, make sure if you get your kids onto the new Tornado ride, there’s a responsible kid at the helm, because we had a wild child spinning the cup and we had 4 extremely queasy kids walk off.  Here’s a great deal to tell you about too.  This week Como Town is doing a fun promotion called the Family Fun Economic Stimulus Package.  All the rides will be free starting at 4 through Friday night.  With all the money you save, you can buy quite a few bags of their mini-donuts, which are the best outside of the State Fair.

Finally we ended our day with a trip to Candyland on Wabasha Ave. in downtown St. Paul.   Their carmel corn popcorn is so delicious, you won’t believe your tastebuds.  You have to make sure you go in and get a fresh order though because it’s still warm and literally melts in your mouth.  Also grab a few of their Pecan Snappers just because it would be a tragedy not to.  I would suggest you grab the goodies and head over to a movie in a park.  Comcast is going to be showing a movie in different St. Paul parks throughout the summer.  This Friday, June 12^th they’re showing RV with Robin Williams at Griggs Recreation Center, but my girls are excited because on Friday, July 17^th they will be playing the movie Igor at the Arlington Recreation Center.  The movies usually start at dusk.

See, this is just a few of the reasons that every time I have guest visit from out of town we head to St. Paul.  There are so many hidden treasures throughout the city that a lot of times, we’re discovering new things to do right along with the friends we’re in charge of showing the town.

Rebekah Wood is an anchor on EYEWITNESS NEWS mornings from 5-7 a.m. and Midday from 11a.m.-noon.