So how did the Five Hens kick off our Wild Week?  The Hens, Roosters and their chicks had a Wild Day of our own courtesy of The Wildlife Experience in Parker, Colorado.  The Wildlife Experience is an interactive museum that connects the community with wildlife and habitats to teach them how they can have a positive effect on the environment.   If your family is interested in learning about animals and their habitats around the world, this museum is for you!

The first thing that strikes you when you arrive at The Wildlife Experience is the setting.  The museum is architecturally stunning and is surrounded by several outdoor sculptures set among natural landscaping.  Our kids were immediately drawn in – who doesn’t like going nose to nose with a wolf, looking up at a giant crane or watching a bubbling woodland stream disappear beneath your feet?  What a great way to get kids ready to explore!

Amazing Butterflies

Our first adventure took place in the Amazing Butterflies maze.  As with all of the exhibits, the best way to make learning fun is to jump right in and try out all of the stations with your kids.  There’s something for every age group along the way.  The little ones are engaged as you work together to do various activities such as crawling like a caterpillar, hunting for leaves, peeking out of a cocoon, crawling up a spider web, learning to flap your wings and finally FLYING!  (Speaking from personal experience, flying along the zip line is fun for adults too!)  Not only are there interesting facts to learn at each stop, but you need to apply that knowledge to guide you along the maze-like journey of the Butterfly.  Each time you choose the correct path you are rewarded with a stamp for your Garden card.  Do kids want to try to find all of those stamp stations?  You bet!  Something as simple as a card with stamps can become a cherished souvenir for kids.

Globeology

Globeology is a 25,000 sq. foot expansion that opened in April of 2009.  Our journey began with an exhibit developed by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration called Science on a Sphere.  Imagine a dimly lit room with a 6 foot sphere that appears to be spinning and hovering right in front of you, displaying information such as sea turtle migrations, hurricane images and ice shelf melting.  Yes, it is really cool! Although the accompanying narration was hard to hear during our visit, the Sphere is an amazing introduction to Globeology.  This is the start of a 1/4 mile trail that provides visitors with an immersive experience with the world’s wildlife and habitats. It is filled with animatronics, special visual effects and sound effects.  If you have hearing sensitive children, please note that all the Howler monkeys at the start of the rainforest trail give you a very loud welcome!  Not only are the exhibits interesting and extremely realistic (it actually snows in the tundra), there are several interactive touch screens with bio-facts and trivia games.  Whereas the adults and older children can learn and test themselves at the kiosks, our younger ones had a great time with the scavenger hunt animal identification cards we picked up at the start of the trail.  After the tundra snow and the underwater submersible, another highlight for our kids was the “fish tank” floor projection.  They stand on top of a projection of the sea floor, and depending on how still they are, tropical fish come out and swim around their feet.  As expected, the kids love to wait for the fish to get close and then chase them off the screen while shrieking with excitement.  Depending on how crowded it is, if you have young ones plan to spend a lot of time at this stop.  To complete the Globeology experience, we also picked up an Explorer Passport ($1.25) at the admission desk.  This is great for kids who are experienced readers and have an interest in becoming an eco-adventurer.  The passport is filled with 23 pages of educational activities and facts to explore during your trip and at home.

Discovery Den and Cubs Corner

Our next stop was at the Discovery Den, a great place for the kiddos to have some hands on play time.  Plus, if any adults (or grandparents!) need a break after the 1/4 mile Globeology trail, there is a nice lounge just outside of the Den with comfortable chairs and a mini library of science books for you to enjoy.  The Discovery Den is geared for kids ages 6 to 12 and has an arts and crafts station, a dress-up area with stage, discovery drawers and several kid-powered exhibits.  The kids loved working together to repeatedly load up the avalanche machine and then watch to see how many people or trees would be wiped out by the snow balls.  We also checked out the Cubs Corner, which is designed for the 5 and under crowd.  Our kids were immediately engaged in the bright and colorful play areas.

A special “feature” of this museum is the abundance of educational activities offered throughout the day.  Depending on the day you visit, you can choose from activities like children’s story time, coral reef fish feeding, science on a sphere presentations or animal bingo, to name a few.  We happened to catch the live snake demonstration at the Discovery Den.  Our boys were proud that they touched a live snake!

Exhibit Gallery

The Exhibit Gallery included some truly inventive ideas on how to help children explore a gallery filled with fine art.  Many of us would love to introduce our children to art museums and it sure is nice to have help along the way!  My favorite activity in the Colorado Gold 2009 invitational exhibit was the “You Be the Judge” clipboards, in which your child awards ribbons to the artwork of their choice.  There is a velcro tab on the back of each ribbon and a tab at each piece of artwork.  Some examples of the categories:  Best Use of Shape, Fastest Animal, Best Use of Camouflage.

Another activity was based around the “Some Like It Hot, Cold, Wet, Dry” theme of the The Wildlife Experience permanent collection.  Quiz kiosks were set up for the kids throughout the gallery, and each asked questions related to a particular habitat.  The format ranged from questions to picture matching.

Extreme Screen Theater

You can also enjoy a large-format film during you visit to The Wildlife Experience.  A concession stand is located at the entrance to the theater.   Coral Reef Adventure and Wild Safari were playing during our visit.  Both movies were kid-friendly.  If you have hearing sensitive children,  the volume of the movies was louder than expected.

Special Note

I did notice something special about The Wildlife Experience:  This is a museum that grows with your family.  In every room, from the play area to the largest exhibit, there were always educational displays, kiosks, or handouts with interesting facts, information or quizzes.  So as your children grow and show interest in various topics, the information is readily available for you to help them learn and explore, or for them to try it on their own.  They can learn something new each time they visit.

Other Notes About the Museum

Bring your walking shoes!  We spent five hours experiencing the exhibits, play areas and theater.

During our visit, the museum facilities were immaculate, colorful and engaging.  You can eat at outside tables or dine at the Toucan Cafe.  There is also a concession stand outside of the Extreme Screen Theater.

Something else that caught my eye during our visit was the extensive list of community events held year-round at the museum.  Trick or Treat OFF the Street was the upcoming event featured during our visit.  They were also preparing for their winter extravaganza – Winter WonderLights.  I was also impressed with their list of special movie events, such as Movie and a Milkshake for kids or Movie and a Martini (February – October) for adults.  It looked as though the special events are very popular and some were already sold out – so plan ahead of time!

Wild Value

Channel 7 KMGH and The Wildlife Experience bring you Lucky Sevens – on the 7th day of every month you can receive discounted admission.  Family memberships are also offered at a discounted rate on those days.  Now that’s budget friendly!

Bonus Giveaway

Have a Wildlife Experience of your own at Winter Wonderlights!  The Wildlife Experience and Five Hens are giving away four tickets to one lucky reader for Winter Wonderlights, a fun and magical journey to the North Pole.  Click here to find out how to enter for a chance to win.

Our Photo Album From Our Trip to the Museum

Check out the lightbox slideshow below of photos from our recent visit to the museum. Simply click on a thumbnail to start the slideshow. Details and information for each screenshot are located at the bottom of the image in the slideshow.