EcoTarium

Located in the heart of the Commonwealth and the second-largest city in New England, the Nature Explore Outdoor Exhibit at the EcoTarium in Worcester, MA offers endless play opportunities and engagement with nature to families in this urban community and beyond.

The Nature Explore Outdoor Exhibit consists of several interactive play areas designed to engage families in open-ended imaginative play and to get hands-on with nature. The most popular areas continue to be the stream, sand digging area, and Messy Materials Area. The provision of loose parts combined with the imagination and creativity of our young guests results in a variety of “campsites,” “mud kitchen restaurants,” rock/stick dams, and tiny gnome homes being constructed. The Music and Movement Area includes a stage and marimbas, which are often used by children to put on their own skits using colorful cloths, costume animal wings, music, and their imagination.

Every year we host Mud Day, Insect Day, and Feather Fest–all of which take place in Nature Explore. This year, on our 200th birthday, we also hosted activities in Nature Explore. Some activities in Nature Explore included a “biggest and best” science experiment and a gigantic elephant’s toothpaste chemical reaction on the stage. Additionally, there were historical reenactors in 1825 costume with an interpretive storyline that explored the origins of the Worcester Natural History Society.

The Nature Explore exhibit, which opened in August 2014, was a collaborative effort between EcoTarium’s trustees and staff, the landscape architect/educator team from Dimensions Educational Research Foundation, the dedicated work of a local landscaping company, and through the generous support of community donors and sponsors.

 

Learn more about this classroom on their certification page!