The Dancing Clock

The Central Park Zoo has many special
things for visitors to see especially the animals. However, a short walk from the zoo's ticket window is the Delacorte Clock. It has stood in this spot since 1965 and features bronze animals including a penguin, two kangaroos, a bear, an elephant, a goat, and a hippo all playing different musical instruments.

This clock was the inspiration for a children's book titled, The Dancing Clock by Steve Metzger and John Abbott Nez. The clock captures the attention of one of the monkeys that lives at the zoo. Anyone that knows the zoo immediately realizes that the monkey exhibit is close enough for this to really happen(unless they moved it since my last visit). The monkey named Milo, wants to do nothing else but watch the clock. One day the zookeeper leaves the cage open and he escapes to dance and play with the animals on the clock. However, as the day comes to an end he realizes he is hungry and wants to get back inside the zoo. A special ending makes him realize how much fun it is to have real monkey friends.

A nice addition in the back also explains the Delacorte clock. One can also share some other adventures of how real zoo animals have escaped including a story about a peacock that escaped from the Central Park Zoo earlier this summer.