Nairobi's great places for kids

Sheldrick's elephant orphanage--this 1 year old LOVED the mud

Last year, I took my 10-year-old grandson to East Africa, Kenya and Tanzania, so he could learn about a different part of the world than his California and, now, North Carolina homes and see the magnificent animals that populate the East African savannah.

baby eager for its bottle of formula

This summer, I was back in Kenya with my 9-year-old granddaughter for the same reasons.  We spent 2 days in Nairobi, visiting Sheldrick’s Elephant Orphanage, where orphaned and often injured baby elephants are cared for until they are slowly introduced back into the wild.  This is a highlight for any child, watching the keepers feed enormous bottles of baby formula to the eager babies (up to 3 years of age) and the babies’ frolics in the mud bath that is maintained for their play (the mud also keeps them cool in the heat of summer).

feeding the babies at Sheldrick's

Most of the babies have been found in one of Kenya’s many game reserves, wandering alone.  An elephant herd will try to protect an orphaned baby, but no other female will feed it, so unless it has learned to eat grass and foliage, it will starve.  Sheldrick’s has found that regular baby formula works best for these huge infants.  Slowly, they learn to eat leaves and grass.  When they are 3 and healthy, they are taken to Sheldrick’s sanctuary in one of the reserves and reintroduced to wild elephant life over 5 years.  They gradually go out to meet elephant herds until one admits the young elephant into its family life.  At that point, they are self-sufficient in the midst of the herd and wild once again. 
We also visited the Bomas, an outdoor museum with typical homes and enclosures used by most of Kenya’s tribes.  Some are thatched huts and others are mud and thatch.  There are about 20 different enclosures that show how people live in the countryside.  Both my grandchildren loved ducking into the huts and exploring the different ways people build houses.

a family compound at the Bomas, Nairobi

There is also a cultural performance showing a variety of tribal dances.  Almost all the visitors are Kenyan school children, dressed in their various uniforms and enchanted with one another.  Last year, the program ended with exceptional Masai dancing, which features incredible jumping by the men, and a superb acrobatic exhibition.  This year, the Masai dancing was lackluster and there were no acrobats.  I would not recommend this cultural show as it was very disappointing this year, though I do think the Bomas are worth a visit.
There is also a giraffe sanctuary, which you must visit mid-day when they're feeding the rescued giraffes and several museums.  For kids, a shorter day is better because they (and you) will be tired after a long trip.

Sheldrick's babies at play