On Saturday, July 22, Henry County Library will turn into “Saturday Afternoon Live” when a van from Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife Museum arrives with live animals.
Wonders of Wildlife Museum and Aquarium opened in Springfield, MO, in September of 2017. It is the largest immersive wildlife museum in the world, with 35,00 live fish, mammals, amphibians and birds from around the world.
Wonders of Wildlife’s EDventure programs will bring an up-close experience of nature to Clinton at a free, hour-long program in Clinton starting at 2:30 p.m. The program will illustrate the theme of this year’s Summer Reading Program, All Together Now.
“We’re talking about animals working together to find food and habitat,” said Misty Mitchell. “Rabbits work together to build homes and raise their families, and wolves hunt in packs. Ants live in colonies.”
Misty, director of conservation programs for the Johnny Morris Foundation, said live wolves are not making the trip to Clinton. But the program will feature wolf skulls, wolf pelts and other artifacts. Appearing live will be small mammals, snakes and other reptiles, she said, depending on who is up for a trip that day.
Every summer, Wonders of Wildlife educators develop two programs based on the Summer Reading Program theme recommended for libraries nation-wide. One program is called “A Book and a Beast,” where a book is read, and features one animal related to the story, she said.
The July 22 program at the Henry County Library, focusing on how animals work together, is an hour long and will feature three to four animals, Misty said.
Most programs only require day trips, she said, and every animal travels in its own covered crate in the van, and is accustomed to traveling.
“They are only out for a certain length of time, and their health and well-being are monitored,” she said.
Children may be familiar with symbiotic animal behavior from the Disney movie, “Finding Nemo,” in which the clownfish and his friend shelter inside a yellow anemone, protected from its venomous stinging tentacles.
“Two species that are different are working together,” Misty said. “The program is all about relationships and how animals work together, just like we work together.”
An example closer to home is the alligator snapping turtle and the algae that grows on its shell. The alligator snapping turtle is relatively rare in Missouri waters, Misty said, and is slow moving, so the algae provides camouflage.
Educational outreach programs allow Wonders of Wildlife to engage with communities throughout Missouri and surrounding states, and introduce conservation, the outdoors and a passion for both, Misty said.
If you visit Wonders of Wildlife in Springfield, prepare to spend up to $50 a ticket for adults and $25 for children, and an entire day or two, as the complex spans 350,00-square feet. The museum has 1.5 miles of immersive trails through habitats, including an African savannah with taxidermied specimens of lions, giraffes, etc., and a sound track of roars, etc. The swamp habitat trail crosses swinging bridges over live alligators. You can also watch the penguins waddle around the ice in Penguin’s Cove, then slide into the water and zoom around like fish through the glass sides of the pool, or from “pop-up” child-sized viewing tubes in the pool itself.
On the aquarium side are tanks totaling 1.5 million gallons of water, including the tank mounted around the walls of Great Oceans Hall. The stingray touch tank (stingers removed), the shark tank and the walk-through plexiglass tunnel of an Ozark river, with fish swimming overhead and on both sides, are popular. Also fascinating are a lighted tank of jellyfish rising and falling and a multi-story vertical tank of spiraling herring.
Note to shark fans: Shark Week at WoW is July 23 through the 29. The ten loggerhead sea turtles that were rejuvenating at the Sea Turtle Rescue Center have returned to their home waters. The aquarium even has a tank of “Nemos,” which are surprisingly smaller than depicted on screen. Go to wondersofwildlife.org for more information.
Henry County Library’s Summer Reading Program ends July 29. Grand prizes will be awarded on August 5 at the End of Summer Celebration, “Foam My Party,” from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the library parking lot. Swimwear or light clothing (tee-shirt and shorts) is recommended.
The Henry County Library is located two blocks east of the Clinton square at 123 E. Green Street, on the corner of Second Street (Business 13) and Green.
