The Wild Center

Sitting on a 31-acre site on Tupper Lake, this Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks opened in 2006 with a mission to "ignite an enduring passion for the Adirondacks where people and nature can thrive together and set an example for the world". It was designed to open new ways to look into the latest discoveries made by natural scientists. As a testament to its vision, it has been recognized for its green building design and construction and is the first LEED certified museum, in the state of New York.

The walkway to the museum entrance is itself a trail of exhibits called the Mother of Invention. It gives insights into secrets held by nature which are inspiring new inventions. Can the loon's ability to desalinate water make water available to everyone in the planet? Can one frog's ability to freeze itself influence healthcare, especially with regards to preserving transplants?

The New Path is another outdoor trail which shows the center's green building practices, with the BioBuilding's solar and living roof, composting toilets and grassy parking lots. There is the Pond Loop behind the building and the Meadow Bird and Oxbow Overlook trail which leads to special overlooks on the Raquette River. We followed a naturalist on this trail who described interesting facts about the area. I would have liked to see more wildflowers and wildlife but it was not the right time for it . It was comforting to learn that unlike the hemlock that was given Socrates, the trees that abound on our camp on Kayuta do not contain any poison. The needles in fact could be used for tea.


Indoors, there were live exhibits of Adirondack wildlife which included trout and other fishes, snakes and more. I finally confirmed that the turtles on Kayuta Lake were indeed painted turtles and that the adult red eft is not as colorful as its younger stage. It was just as amusing to watch the frustrated photographers as the lively, acrobatic otter circling around its pond.

At the Find Out Forest, we watched a few short film clips of our choosing and stayed for one show at the Flammer Panoramas Theater. We were not able to stay for the newest film in their collection, A Matter of Degrees, narrated by Sigourney Weaver.

For anybody interested in learning about the Adirondacks, the Wild Center is the place to go. At less than 100 miles from Kayuta Lake, this is a day trip worthwhile taking. For more information, check out www.wildcenter.org.