Interested in walking with the otters, crawling with the moles, flying with the herons, and building with the beavers? The animal exhibits offer that and much more. The realistic habitats give kids and families an insider’s view on the natural spaces of northern Pennsylvania.
Feathers of the Greenway
Greenways are special places for animals to live in nature without being disturbed by people. River valleys and mountain ranges are the perfect places for greenways. Our greenway is an indoor version of nature’s original.
When you enter the museum and walk up the steps, take a look to your left to see a bunch of different species of birds. You can learn about BirdWeather, a library of bird vocalizations that lets us listen to and learn about birds around the world.
Can you guess what bird belongs to the scientific name Cardinalis Cardinalis? You can learn all about Eastern North America’s birds in the corner of that same space, including scientific names, diets, and identification tricks. Check out how big your wingspan is too, when you look at the floor!
After walking into the museum, it’s nearly impossible to ignore our giant tree and bird’s nest. Pop off your shoes, pull on a fun costume, and jump (carefully 😉) into the nest! You can explore the different birds creating their habitat there, pretend you’re a bird yourself, and notice how the different seasons affect the tree.
Grounds of the Greenway
Introducing itself with an interactive question and answer box, The Greenway further welcomes kids to come explore the wonders of the wetland areas we house in our own state. The habitat includes tall grasses, weeds, stones, a beaver dam, and walls representing a plentiful lake of water.
On the outskirts of the exhibit lie interactive activities encouraging kids to use their sensory skills to learn more about the scene before their eyes. Included are different pelts, different types of wood used by beavers to build dams, and crafts including creating a mallard duck and investigating the monarch butterfly’s life cycle.
And there are plenty of seats for everyone to have room to create and learn! Try to find all the animals coexisting in the landscape. They include: blackbirds, beavers, mallard ducks, monarch butterflies, river otters, minks, kingfishers, little green herons, muskrats, and green winged teals.
Animal Architects
Right next to The Greenway, you can see another interactive animal habitat giving visitors more to explore. Animal Architects is an elevated exhibit providing further insight into the parts of animal lives we don’t see on a normal day. The first thing to do is travel the tunnel leading under the habitat for a mole’s eye view of nature. When you come back up for air, stroll around and read the signs and posters to learn more about what you’re seeing.
Pay attention to the corners of the habitat! You can color an owl and discover new facts about them, or you could explore the types of creatures that live in and around a pond. Keep a sharp eye trained at the ceiling too; you never know what kind of nest you might see.
Investigating further into the habitats, trees, stumps, grasses, and nests, stay on the lookout for skunks, toads, moles, rabbits, animal tracks, black bears, gray squirrels, burrowing owls, and groundhogs.
Come learn more about nature in a fun and exciting way at the Children’s Museum in Bloomsburg! We can’t wait to see you there!
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