A Wild Time at the Wild Center
Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks Opens in Grand Style

By Neal Burdick

A friend of mine doesn’t like natural history museums. Says nature belongs outdoors, not inside in display cases and auditoriums and such.

He might tolerate the brand-new Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks (colloquially, “the Wild Center”). It covers 31 acres along the Raquette River on the southeast edge of the Village of Tupper Lake, and less than one of those acres sits under a building. The rest are mixed woods, ponds, wetlands and riparian shoreline reachable by a wheelchair-accessible trail. We heard white-throated sparrows outside, then went inside to learn about them.

Obie Clifford, president of the Wild Center board of directors, says this is a museum not of the past but of the future, a nod to its clearly stated educational mission. He calls the place “a zoo, an aquarium, a botanical garden, a science center, a school and a nature show.” He also credits the Tupper Lake community for getting solidly behind the project. Tupper Lakers also hope the museum will spur economic revitalization.

The museum is accommodating. The river otter is a hoot. A glacier calves, scaring kids into shrieks and splattering water on folks. Thus were the Adirondacks as we know them shaped. From that point we follow a route that takes us from lowlands progressively to the summits of the highest peaks. Along the way we can get a whiff of mink (and wintergreen; do that one after the mink), peer into an eye-level cross-section of a trout stream, learn how many different kinds of damselflies there are, and watch a video of ADKer Ed Ketchledge explaining the why and how of the Summit Steward program. And that’s just a tiny fraction. When your feet start barking you can watch short films of the Flying Karamazov Brothers demonstrating—by juggling, not flying--natural phenomena like the water cycle.

Standing beneath blow-ups of some of ADKer Carl Heilman II’s exquisite photographs, Managing Director Betsy Lowe acknowledges ADK’s ongoing support and help; she singles out Executive Director Neil Woodworth, Conservation Associate Jack Freeman, and Education Director Jen Kretser. She notes that the museum and ADK have already jointly produced and put “on the road” programs such as a portrayal of legendary naturalist Orra Phelps.

If you’re like my friend and think nature doesn’t belong in museums, check this one out – you might change your mind. Or at least your definition of “in.”


The museum is off Hosley Ave. in Tupper Lake: turn south off Route 3 at Sunmount and proceed 500 yards to the entrance on the left.

The museum is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. seven days a week through Columbus Day, then 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday through Monday until Memorial Day, plus December 26-31. It is closed Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and April 2-15, 2007.

Admission is $14 for ages 15-65, $9 for children (those under 3 are free) and $12 for seniors. Memberships, which include free admission, start at $40.

For more: www.wildcenter.org or 518-359-7800.