If you told us that a Bald Eagle, a Polar Bear, a Boa Constrictor, and a Great Horned Owl all lived within 15 minutes from our home in Central Mass, we probably would have called you crazy. That is, until we visited the EcoTarium in Worcester, MA, with a weekend guest and his 4-year-old twins. The EcoTarium is an indoor and outdoor science and nature museum with a wide variety of activities, including a digital planetarium, wildlife, nature trails, a working railroad, and many other hands-on exhibits. The EcoTarium costs $10 for adults and $8 for kids (children under 3 are free) and is open 10am-5pm Tuesday-Saturday and noon-5pm on Sunday.

Driving into the facility you arrive at a guard booth, where you are greeted and pay for the vehicle full of kids. We thought this was good as you can park and get right to the action without having to wait in line for tickets. Walking from the parking lot to the main building you are immediately greeted by a cage of owls on one side of the path and a cage of Bald Eagles on the other side. Both have good signage with details about the birds and got our group pretty enthused about what was to come.

With a map in hand we plotted out our day, deciding to tackle the outdoor activities first by hitting the Wildlife Path. The first exhibit was Kenda, the 600 pound Polar Bear. The kids and adults were quite impressed with the balancing act this enormous animal exhibited as she walked back and forth on a high ledge within her concrete play area. Unfortunately, we did not get to see Kenda take a swim in her large pool. The museum offers a glass viewing area on one side of the pool so you can see her swimming under water. Hopefully we can catch that next time. The rest of the path was not quite as exciting, but we did hit the playground along the route. This trail brings you right to the Explorer Express Train which was a must for our crew. The 12-minute train ride takes you around the entire museum grounds. The highlights included the fox cage and a tunnel where the kids are encouraged to scream out loud. The train does cost an extra $2.50 per person.

There were several other nature trails to check out, but the chilly day made us head inside after the train ride. There are 3 floors of science and nature exhibits inside the museum, some permanent and others that change seasonally. We would encourage you to check out the EcoTarium’s website before visiting to see the current list of exhibits and any live shows that might be coming up (we enjoyed a live talk about tortoises). All exhibits focus on natural history and New England’s environment. Older kids, who can read and enjoy science, will soak up the information in each exhibit while the younger kids will require some help from parents to explain things along the way.

None of the kids in our group were over 7, but the adults sure would have liked to try the Tree Canopy Walkway if the children were of age (7 years old or 50 pounds are the minimums on this 40 foot high walk and swing through the tree tops). Other events and exhibits the EcoTarium offers includes a sunset Jazz concert series, a digital planetarium, and the discovery room, which is a special room for preschool-aged kids to learn about nature and science.

Mom Says: The owl and Bald Eagle cages are pretty close to the path so you can get a great view of the birds. If your kid is like ours and loves to play with anything he can grab, this is a great place. I was amazed at all of the exhibits the kids were able to tinker with – upon entering the museum there was a microscope that the twins couldn’t take their hands off of.

Dad Says: I was surprised at the variety of exhibits and like the fact that exhibits change frequently. The facility is a little dated and could use some TLC, but the kids didn’t seem to mind that. The cool stuff is all extra, so plan on additional spending above the entry fee. We’d definately go back and would think about becoming members.

Weekend Guest Says: My son and daughter, both 4, finally understood a few tricks that I had never been able to explain, like how mosquitoes can spot your blood 3 miles away in the dark, how turtles reproduce, and how fish grow in a river eco-system. The staff was very nice and took time to explain things to the kids. Workshops are well organized around various schedules at convenient times (management must have kids too). If you visit, don’t miss a chance to lose your quarter in the “black hole”, but be careful as it’s addictive and, unlike slot machines, there is no cash payout.

Visit the EcoTarium’s Website at http://www.ecotarium.org/

This entry was posted on Monday, March 16th, 2009 at 11:53 pm and is filed under Museums, Zoos. If you use RSS, you can subscribe to the RSS feed , or if you would rather receive an e-mail, please subscribe to the e-mail in the lower right hand corner of this page. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.