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Twin Cities Kids, Adults Hit Como Zoo For Indoor Fun On Subzero Day

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- Most Twin Cities metro schools were off Monday for the holiday to honor the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Some schools even decided to close for the day due to the subzero temperatures and more dangerous wind chills. But the bitter cold left many parents making indoor plans for their kids.

It was another brutally cold day with wind chill readings dropping down to 30 below zero early in the morning. That meant having the day off was another day spent inside, and we found plenty of families making the best of it at Como Zoo.

Another day in the deep freeze had kids across the Twin Cities metro avoiding the frigid temperatures.

"Are you happy that you're inside today?  Yes I am. Tell me why.  Well I don't want to get all frozen outside. No, definitely not," one child said.

Moms and dads were left to find indoor fun for the day with kids off from school. It made for some big crowds at the Como Park Zoo.

"I'm all for taking the kids outside.  He loves to go outside.  At Silverwood there's a snowman building contest and if I thought he could do it safely, I totally would, but it's too cold," Holly Chase said.

With wind chills as cold as 30 below zero Monday morning, the temperature inside Tropical Encounters was nearly 110 degrees warmer. Some of the kids said Monday's visit was like a mini vacation.

"I especially like the water thing.  It gives me the chance to actually feel like I'm going swimming," Chaz Alamore said. "The frogs, moving creatures."

We also found plenty of adults with the day off escaping the bitter cold and breathing in the warm, humid air.

It's part of being a Minnesotan.  You've got to suck it up and deal with it and take these moments when you can get them," Emily Mehr said.

And if you're sick and tired of the brutal cold, there's hope in sight.   We can look forward to highs in the mid to upper 20s this weekend, which will feel like a heat wave compared to our recent subzero conditions.

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