Digital Day of Programs, Activities and Games
Tupper Lake, N.Y. – The Wild Center is throwing a Virtual Not Quite Open But Dearly Hopin’ Spring Jamboree on Friday, May 1, 2020. The all-day event celebrates and symbolizes a new season at The Wild Center, which normally opens its doors on May 1st to reintroduce visitors to the wonders of the natural world on its campus. Although public operations are temporarily suspended at the Adirondack-based science center and outdoor nature experience, the virtual party invites visitors to participate in fun activities and programs – all from their living rooms.
Each opening weekend also marks another birthday for the Center’s five North American River Otters – Squirt, Louie, Scarlett, Ta:wi:ne and Roh:sno:re. The Otter Birthday Party celebration, a fan favorite of opening weekend, will take place at noon on May 1st, as part of The Wild Center’s Lunchtime Live digital program. Viewers can sing “happy birthday” and watch as the otters are fed a special birthday treat.
The digital day will also include talks with The Wild Center’s staff, wild art tutorials and a look inside a brook trout during a live fish dissection. A behind-the-scenes-tour is scheduled to take viewers to places most never get to see, including the otters’ backstage play area and a private visit with their wild animal ambassadors.
To end the evening with light-hearted laughs, The Wild Center is debuting their first ever Member Digital Events with a family-friendly dance party at 6 p.m. and Adirondack trivia at 7 p.m. Members must register to attend.
“Typically, we’d be getting ready to welcome back our visitors on May 1st with lots of fun activities and new exhibits,” said Stephanie Ratcliffe, executive director of The Wild Center. “There’s nothing typical about this year so we have cooked up a special day to offer those experiences virtually for our friends far and wide.”
The Virtual Spring Jamboree is just one of many free digital offerings by The Wild Center. With a mission to help others fall in love with nature, The Wild Center has been providing daily innovative and educational online content with “Lunchtime Live” on The Wild Center’s Facebook channel and educational distance learning programs on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11am EST. Previous episodes are archived on the website for viewing at any time.
Viewers can also enjoy virtual tours around The Wild Center and its outdoor Wild Walk, watch live webcams of the surrounding Adirondack wilderness and browse a library of nature videos.
The Wild Center is also a part of I LOVE NY’s coloring pages project. Visitors can imagine the view from Wild Walk’s giant eagle’s nest and other New York attractions as they make their pictures come to life with pencils, crayons and markers. The coloring page can be found at: https://www.iloveny.com/blog/post/new-coloring-pages-let-you-color-new-york-state/. Information about the Virtual Spring Jamboree and The Wild Center’s digital offerings may be found at www.WildCenter.org/digital