Back in 2017, Johnny Morris, a native of Springfield, Missouri, opened a 350,000-square-foot Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium in his hometown to give its residents the feel of the American Museum of Natural History in New York, The Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., and Shedd Aquarium in Chicago—right in their own backyard.
With more than 35,000 live animals—including fish, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and birds from seven continents—it has been dubbed the “world’s largest wildlife attraction.”
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Now, after millions of visitors, the museum, just three hours from St. Louis, has debuted new exhibits and has plenty of new ones on the horizon.
Since opening, Wonders of Wildlife has had exhibits like Year of the Bird, and debuted an Out to Sea Shark Dive in June of 2018, where guests go under water in a metal cage to be face-to-face with the likes of sand tiger sharks, brown sharks, barracuda, and Atlantic goliath groupers, and can be even submerged during feeding time with the Feeding Frenzy option.
“It’s the only place in the Midwest where you can dive with sharks,” Stephenson says.
This April, the museum and aquarium will be the judging grounds for conservation organization Boone and Crockett‘s 30th annual Big Game Awards. This means any North American sportsman who has a record-winning amount of game will be shipping said game to Springfield. The winners will be announced in May and later put on display at Wonders of Wildlife during summer 2019.
In September, Wonders of Wildlife will house Nature’s Best Photography 24th Annual Windland Smith Rice International Awards Exhibition, a nature photography exhibit currently on display at the Smithsonian.
“It’s these these stunning images of wildlife from all around the world,” Stephenson says. The gallery is also open to the public, so photographers can submit their work to be possibly featured.
For families who might be visiting Wonders of the Wildlife for the first time, Stephenson says, “Plan more time than you think you’ll need—a four to five hour window. Wear comfortable walking shoes. Plan to take a break halfway through lunch so you can tackle the aquarium once you’re done with the museum.”
The best time to visit? “2–3 p.m.,” Stephenson says. “We always have lower crowds later in the day.”
Tickets for children: (4–11) are $30; adults are $60. The attraction is currently offering 50 percent off admission to Ozark area residents within these Missouri counties.
