Wildlife Experience
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00 families found this helpful
"So much to see and do"
We recently visited this for the first time to go see the lights and Santa during Christmas. This was very fun with the crafts and activities they had going on. We went back a few weeks later to visit the exhibits and to see what else they had to offer. They exhibits are very real to life, so use some caution when bringing young children. My daughter didn't love the lion eating a dead animal.
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1 family found this helpful
"I think we paid a lot..."
for what our son really got out of it. We went when it was newly opened, and I thought that it was really geared towards little ones. Well, yes, it's geared towards kids, but not those that are like 2 years old. They had a number of cute little exhibit-y/activity things in one area of the center, and another room that had costumes and what not for the kids to play around with. Upstairs is where the exhibits are - that change out from time to time. When we went they had these audio-animatronic prehistoric animals - and man - they were pretty realistic and our little one was FREAKED OUT! I have talked to others who said their little ones loved them, but if you have a kiddo who is on the sensitive side... you might not want to venture upstairs if they still have those there (I don't think they are anymore though from what I see on their site). They do have movies, but we felt at that age, he wouldn't sit through them and they'd be a waste of money. Anyhow, I wasn't all that impressed. I'm not a big fan of free-days because they are just SO crowded it's not worth it, but if I could get a half-off coupon or something and we were planning on being in the area, I might go again now that my son is older, but I know for myself I would never go again at full price, and I don't know that I would ever suggest that anyone else pay full price to go either.
'11, '12
1 family found this helpful
"Not an all day activity, but good for a couple of hours"
The Wildlife Experience is fun and is definitely targeted at the younger crowd. Many renovations have taken place over the years and if you haven't visited since Globeology opened, you might want to give it another try. Globeology was very interesting, had written and interactive activities for older kids and lots to see for the littles. Instead of the animals being on pedestals, habitats have actually been created and you have to "find" many of the animals. If you use the displays as a starting point, there are many potentials for great science based discussions. I was a little disappointed because the activities and narratives didn't really capitalize on some of the most obvious discussion points - for example, if you are having to find the animals in the habitats, one would expect camouflage to be a topic. The facility had also taken the time to create scavenger hunts through most of the exhibit areas, but all of the cards were all gone at every display. This is a pet peeve of mine, but if a place is going to take the time to create an activity such as this, then they need to stock it accordingly or remove it. There were several other creative things throughout Globeology but you have to slow the kids down or they move past too quickly and miss it - such as the "snow" in the Arctic Tundra. And parents beware of the crocodile - really, watch the kids. As you are coming down one of the ramps you see a 10 foot or so crocodile, as you come closer, the crocodile starts to move and make noise. Most of the kids were scared by the display but by the time you figure out what is going on, the kids are already hiding behind your legs. The favorite part for both of my kids was the series of aquariums that lined one of the walls, the wall was made to look like a reef, and had an "interactive" aquarium projected onto the floor - this was by far the coolest part of the trip and the kids probably would have been perfectly happy spending their entire time chasing fish pictures around on the floor.
In addition to the museum portion, one can attend the movie for an additional price. While it was loud (not any louder then a normal theater) - the nice thing is, if you are looking for an age appropriate movie for little kids, one will always be showing here (that is actually why we visited in the first place - we wanted to take the kids to a movie but couldn't find a G or PG movie that they were interested in). Another note of caution - the movie theater does not take late comers and if you leave during the movie you won't be allowed to re-enter. Who ever created this rule clearly does not have a toddler that is potty training. The good news is, the movies are relatively short.
For the cost, it is worth going once in a while (like once a year). If you do consider and annual pass, take note that some of the passes come with a couple of movie tickets, but the movie is not something you can do unlimited as part of the annual pass. I would definitely take the family once before you buy an annual pass.
3 families found this helpful
"Fun but not membership worthy"
South of Denver there’s a nice little museum called the Wildlife Experience. Their mission is to build “respect for habitat and wildlife and inspires efforts to conserve for generations to come through educational, interactive and entertaining experiences”. Translation: come learn about wildlife habitats through hands-on displays.
Our recent visit only took us 1.5 hours to cover the whole museum. My kids, ages 7-14, enjoyed themselves but didn’t complain at all when I said it was time to go. They give it a thumbs up but we decided that it was not membership worthy and we could wait a couple years to go back again. This says a lot since admission for the five of us is usually half of what a yearly membership is at most places. I think their indifferent attitude is because this museum is geared more to kids aged 3-10.
Don’t get me wrong, it is a nice place to visit. They have many permanent displays such as Wild Colorado which covers the four habitats of Colorado. Discovery Den, a hands on exhibit geared to kids ages six to twelve. My kids enjoyed playing with a game that taught about avalanches. Another hands on exhibit is the Cubs Corner which is more for little ones aged 2-6.
They do have different exhibits come in. When we visited we saw Grossology. The next incoming exhibit is Adventures of Riley: Biome Trek A while back they had a cool, but small, Lego exhibit too.
The museum is expanding and the new 25,000 sq ft exhibit is called Globeology. The exhibit will cover the rainforest, temperate forest, tundra, savannah, asian highlands, coral reef, and desert. The new exhibit opens the 31st of May.
The Extreme Screen Theatre is a 40 x 60 ft giant screen with DTS digital surround sound. (Read- REALLY LOUD-might not be good for little ones). This is my kids’ favorite part. The documentaries are wonderful, but there is an extra cost. You can go to just the movie, or they offer a discount for both museum and movie admission.
For convenience there is food.-The Toucan Café. Pricing is about average for places like this -meaning a bit too much but very convenient. Also available are concessions for the Extreme Screen.
Overall, the Wildlife Experience is a nice place to visit. If your budget is tight, take kids ages 3-10 through the museum and older kids to the Extreme Screen Theatre.
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