Zoo Coloring Page

Your first day at the zoo starts on this zoo coloring page. Two kids walk up the path toward a big stone gate, one of them waving and holding a red balloon. Under the arch a tall giraffe looks right at them. Beside it stands an elephant with a monkey on its head, and a lion sits calmly by the path, as if it were checking tickets.

The page is best for ages 4 to 10. It has a lot going on, so allow 30 to 40 minutes. Tackle one animal each day, and it can last most of a week.

Colors from the sign to the signpost

The arch gives the page its pop. Try a red sign with big white letters on a golden yellow curve. Those three letters are outlined, so they can take any color, and each O would look good with a pattern inside.

The two towers are built from gray stones. Use two or three grays, and leave a few stones pale so the wall does not look flat. The path is a warm tan.

The giraffe has spots that should go a little darker than its body, so pick orange on yellow. The elephant has pink in its ears and gray everywhere else. The lion's mane deserves your strongest orange. The signpost has three arrows, one each for LIONS, BEARS and SEALS. Give each arrow a color of its own.

Tips for a busy scene like this

• Do the animals first, as they are the reason your child picked the page.
• Color the two kids next, in clothes that look like your own family.
• Save the sky for last and press lightly, so the big sign stays bright.
• Use a ruler edge to keep your crayon in line along the fence posts.

The stones on the towers are small, so a sharp pencil beats a fat marker. Felt tips work well on the sign, where you want strong clean color.

Zoo facts for the ride there

The oldest zoo still open today is in Vienna, Austria. It opened in 1752, more than 270 years ago, and you can read about it on Wikipedia's page on the Vienna zoo. In the United States, the Philadelphia Zoo is often called the first, and it opened its gates in 1874.

Giraffes are the tallest animals on land, and even a newborn is taller than most grown-ups. An elephant's trunk has no bones, but it holds thousands of muscles, which is how it can pick up a peanut or wave hello like the one here.

Modern zoos do more than show animals. Many help protect rare species and run programs to breed them.

Plan a day out with your zoo coloring page

Going to a real zoo soon? Print this sheet first and use it as a checklist. Your child can tick off the giraffe, the elephant and the lion when they see one in real life. Color the animals you find on the way home in the car.

If there is no trip planned, make a pretend one. Line up some stuffed animals, draw paper tickets, and let your child run the gate. A cardboard box makes a fine ticket booth.

The signpost is a good prompt for writing, too. Ask what you would find if you followed the arrow to SEALS, then have your child draw that part of the zoo on a new sheet.

Print it at the right size

Regular letter paper is fine, though small hands may struggle with the stones and tiny flowers. If you can, print this one on larger paper at a library or copy shop. Your child will get much more room on the gate.

Visit more animals

This gate leads to all our animal coloring pages. Kids who fall for the tallest resident can color the baby giraffe, and the koala is a soft one to try after that.

Questions