Ever wonder what it’s like to hang glide among migrating cranes? Or hand-feed the tiny chick of an endangered bird species?
The Saint Louis Science Center offers visitors these opportunities, as well as others, at its new exhibit Wildlife Rescue, opening October 5 in Boeing Hall.
The traveling exhibit originated from the Science North center in Ontario, Canada, and will make the Science Center its temporary home until February 3. The exhibition will concentrate on presenting the stories of the animals around the world that need preservation, and the people who have dedicated their lives to saving these endangered species.
The exhibit will feature 6,000 sq. ft. of displays, including an exhibit with information on captive breeding with an interactive simulation of puppet-feeding a baby chick in captivity, a giant globe displaying the locations of 30 different endangered species, a hang glider simulation and real animal skulls on display.
Bert Vescolani, CEO of the Science Center, said the Center’s resident axolotl salamanders might even make an appearance. (After a Google search of “axolotl,” it is apparent that the strange-looking salamander alone might be reason enough to visit the exhibit.)
Along with the exhibit, the Science Center is debuting the wildlife rescue IMAX movie Born to be Wild. The lighthearted, child-friendly movie follows the stories of orphaned elephants and orangutans and their human caretakers.
Vescaloni said the exhibit will make the science of wildlife rescue more accessible to St. Louisians.
“The core of what we try to do is, we’re a translator,” Vescaloni said. “What we try to do is take some of the hard science out there, take some of the things that were more difficult to understand, and we interpret it and translate it so people get it. Exhibits are a great way to do that, and animals are a great way to do that.”
The Science Center is localizing the exhibit by inviting different local wildlife organizations, such as the St. Louis County Wildlife Rescue and Gateway Parrot Society, to take part in the exhibit every weekend.
“When you take the science and you take the animals, and you put those two things together, it’s a story for us to tell,” Vescolani said. “We don’t have to have the living animals there, we can tell the stories of the people that make a difference for these animals. We can show he story of the science that was used to help create a better understanding of how to protect this wildlife, now and in the future.”
Admission to Wildlife Rescue is $4 adults, $3 kids (members), or $8 adults, $6 kids (non-members). Born to be Wild is free to members, or $9 adults, $8 for kids. For more information, visit slsc.org.
