The zoo is great for kids of all ages (that includes adult kids, too). Kids are not required to come here! In fact, I think it would be great to offer a no-children day at the zoo for those of us who do not prefer the company of children. There is a great gift shop and restrooms right as you walk in. If all the walking makes you hungry, the Mane Restaurant is on the premises. It pretty much offers up your standard park fare of hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, and salads thrown in for the low-calorie diners. There are also two other cafes on the premises, as well as vendor carts.

Here you can see elephant and sea-lion training, a rainforest, komodo dragons, or an elephant getting a bath. But most people who come here want to see the pandas. The giant pandas were given to the zoo as a gift in 1972 from China. The zoo is only one of a few zoos in the country to have such an honor. If you are coming during the summer, be prepared to wait. The pandas, like many other animals in the zoo, are not as active during the hot weather. We waited 40 minutes in line only to get to see the pandas for all of about 20 seconds! And the pandas just lie there. No worries about people hogging up time here--the employees will make sure to guide you out if you have been in too long. Since we had plans that night, this was the only thing we got to see in the zoo! I will make sure to allot more time for our next visit.

But, as you might guess, the area of the National Zoo I find most interesting is devoted to invertebrates. Although ninety-nine percent of all species lack backbones, the zoo’s invertebrate display is modest. However, I enjoy it for several reasons. First, there is the pollinarium, filled with fluttering butterflies. I also can’t resist the immense spiny lobsters, ghostly colored anemones, and tank full of nautiluses.

Then there are the spiders. Not just the usual spider display – some poor red-kneed tarantula sulking in a terrarium -- but spiders out in the open, in an immense web that occupies a large, dark corner of one room.

They are Madagascar Golden Orb Spiders, Nephila madagascariensis, and the very sight of them sends some folks into a tizzy.

"Get away from there! Right now! Horrible things!" I heard one mother scream as her child drew close to the spider display. She yanked him away, obviously though needlessly agitated. This species is not aggressive and is basically web-bound. That is, they find it very difficult to walk anywhere but on a web. If you dare come close enough to observe – for they are indeed very impressive spiders, with long legs and substantial bodies – you’ll see that the ends of their finely-tapered legs have tiny hooks, not at all suited for terrestrial movement but exquisitely adapted for aerial life.

They need space – lots of it – since their webs are often more than six feet across. The thing that impressed me most the first time I saw this display was the cleverness of it. The zookeepers could pretty much trust that no one was going to touch or tamper with the web, given the fear people have of spiders.

Another thing I enjoy at the zoo is the landscaping. It’s more than just pretty, it’s local-species friendly. The area outside the invertebrate display, for example, is abuzz with bees and pollen-gathering insects among the buddleia, agastache, monarda, and other well-known butterfly attractants. Throughout the zoo, there are habitats suitable not just for the glamour mammals, such as the (to my mind rather dull) giant pandas, but for the frogs, bats, birds, snails, squirrels, and other local creatures that come unbidden – and remain encaged.

A cooling mist for the bipeds.

Insider Tip: The zoo opens at 6am, and early morning is an excellent time to visit. You’ll see many locals jogging and power-walking along the winding paths then. Less energetic folk coming in on the Metro are advised to get off at Cleveland Park, rather than the National Zoo stop. It’s no further from the zoo but is a downhill, rather than uphill, walk.