Perkins Wildlife Center will close August 24
A treasured Museum experience since its opening in 1970, the current Perkins Wildlife Center & Woods Garden will close Monday, August 24 as we continue construction of the first phase of our Centennial Transformation Project. We invite you to join us for "Perkins Farewell Weekend" to visit your favorite animal ambassadors before they're off display, and help us say farewell to Perkins until the new center opens in 2016. Visitors will continue to be able to experience unique animal encounters at daily live animal programs and see our North American river otters, red foxes and coyote in the Thelma & Kent H. Smith Environmental Courtyard beginning in early September.
A Special Weekend Celebration
A weekend-long celebration of Perkins Wildlife Center & Woods Garden kicks off Friday, August 21 with our annual Birds, Beasts, Brats and Beer 21+ party and continues Saturday and Sunday (August 22 and 23) with family friendly wildlife presentations, including live animal training demonstrations with crowd favorites such as snowshoe hares, sandhill cranes, bobcats and raccoons.
Visitors can also watch Turkey Vultures and Crow feedings, make animal crafts in Smead Discovery Center and get up close with roaming animal encounters. We hope you'll join us for these final days in the current Perkins Wildlife Center & Woods Garden!
New Perkins Wildlife Center & Woods Garden Opening Summer 2016
The new Perkins Wildlife Center & Woods Garden will be a vibrant and intimate outdoor extension of the Museum shared with native plants, animals and birds.
#Perkins2016 will give visitors the chance to be immersed in nature while remaining in the city and see native Ohio plant species and animals up close.
Through playful exhibitions and new techniques in animal care, animals and people will be able to intermingle with one another. Perkins Wildlife Center will encourage visitors to spend time and observe characteristic animal behavior. There will be multiple opportunities for up-close viewings of animals and birds with interpretive guides that lead them there.
Its new hillside location will create compelling and engaging experiences for wildlife and people. Coyotes, red foxes, bobcats and raccoons will have access to an overhead trailway system on rotating days. Our Museum will be the second “zoo” in the country to use this state-of-the-art approach.
The new design follows the natural topography. Above the ground, visitors will be able to view hundreds of types of birds flying in the Upper Aviary. Below, a pathway will meander through the wetlands and loop around into the new Otter Habitat. Here, visitors can peep their heads into the otter pool for an “underwater” encounter with the otters.
Perkins demonstrates the abundance and resilience of Ohio’s natural wildlife. It also raises awareness of the research conducted by the Museum, tells conservation stories, and nurtures understanding of the consequences of human actions on wild animals.
During construction, each of the animals that call Perkins home will remain on campus at the Museum and be viewable through daily live animal programs. The red foxes, North American river otters and coyote will be temporarily viewable in the Thelma & Kent H. Smith Environmental Courtyard beginning in early September.
More About Perkins
Visit the
Perkins Wildlife Center & Woods Garden webpage to learn more. To see our animals in action, check out
Creature Feature, an ongoing video series that highlights one species at a time. For even more videos, watch our
Wildlife Playlist on YouTube.