It’s hard to top Fernbank’s NatureQuest exhibit, but Fernbank’s latest exhibition, Wildlife Rescue may be the perfect companion.
The five-themed exhibit including The Pathway to Rescue, Return to the Wild Theater, the Species Recovery Center, Emergency Response Center and the Home Front and Exit Experience speaks to children of all ages.
In the first exhibit area, a carpeted floor is illuminated by projected images of green foliage and animals. Dimly-lit console stations show short videos that help educate museum goers on the natural surroundings in which animals live.
The first stop for my seven-year-old son was a station with a metal Sturgeon fish. Instinctively, we stroked the smooth man-made metal Acipenseridae. My son quickly withdrew his hands while the educational video played a scene of wildlife volunteers “milking” the fish. While I appreciated the nature of this lesson, I wasn’t ready to discuss the birds and bees just yet.
However, my four-year-old daughter made her own bee line in another exhibit area where she could fly in a simulator with migrating geese. But before I could call fowl, she did some migrating of her own in the turtle crossing.
In this particular area, kids can don a turtle shell and learn what it’s like to cross a busy road as an amphibious creature. On the top side of this play structure is a replica of a highway road complete with yellow-dotted lines. Underneath, kids can crawl in and out of a roadway-safer than realistic ones in which turtles are forced to navigate.
But not all lessons went unnoticed, she was immediately drawn into the Emergency Response Center where she spent a good 20 minutes scrubbing a plastic bird that had been the victim of an oil spill.
Normally, the only thing that could hold the attention of my seven-year-old is his Nintendo DS. Surprisingly, he was engaged in a video on Orangutan rescue and rehabilitation in the Return to Wildlife section of this exhibition. On long theatre benches, we learned the importance of the Orangutan's existence, and what others are doing to preserve their survival.
In the Exit and Home Front Experience, we encountered experts on the real wildlife story, live animals.
My children had the opportunity to up-close-and-personal with a snake and a box turtle. The exercise opened up good some dialogue about social responsibility, our connection to wildlife, and our role as protectors.
Comments