It takes more than gray clouds and cool temperatures to keep the junior youth out of the water. Young Mennonites spent Thursday afternoon relaxing and having a blast at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium and at Zoombezi Bay, a water park connected with the zoo.

More than 200 kids piled into seven buses to make the half-hour journey to the park, located north of Columbus.

“I’m most excited for the water park,” said Trevor Strait of Bedford, Pa.

Though the sun was hidden most of the afternoon and temperatures barely reached the low 70s, most kids spent a significant portion of their five free hours in the water park. They enjoyed multiple water slides, a wave pool and a special ride featuring a funnel-shaped slide in which four riders atop a raft slid back and forth around the bowl.

The zoo contains animals from across the world’s continents, including Asia, Africa and North America. Some of the more impressive displays were those featuring bears, apes, fish and reptiles.

Whether they spent time viewing animals or plummeting down water slides, the noise level clearly indicated that junior youth had a fantastic time.

“The wave pool was my favorite part,” said Heather Wenger. “I didn’t go to the zoo because I love swimming.”