The Ecotarium

My family, mother and brother recently took a trip to The Ecotarium in Worcester, Ma.We had never been there before, but had heard nothing but great things. Turns out, every great thing was so very true.It can be difficult to find a place that holds interest through all of my children's ages. This wonderful place certainly did that and then some. You purchase tickets directly upon entering the gate. My mom used the purchase of the tickets and applied it towards a membership. Here's an amazing fact: A membership at the Ecotarium can also get you in to the Museum of Science in Boston, The Children's Museum in Boston, the Roger Williams Zoo in Providence, RI, and those are just to name a few. Even better? A membership to The Ecotarium is actually less expensive than a membership to any of the above mentioned places! You can't beat that logic!One of the things I loved the most about this place, is that it has both indoor and outdoor activities.We began our visit indoors, where there were various exhibits, typical to those in science museums, there were a surprising amount of animals shown in various habitats, and gratefully there was a toddler-preschool play area.For children age 7 and up The Ecotarium offers a Tree Canopy Tour. Tyler loved this. The tour has you walking up high in the tree tops through bridges and you are able to see things at a whole new perspective. The tour ends with a zip line to the ground again, which is undoubtedly the highlight of this particular adventure.There are a few wonderful nature paths at The Ecotarium, each with a different theme. These were both fun and interesting, and not too long for little legs to walk on their own.
Throughout The Ecotarium there are animals to watch. All of the animals living there have been rescued and could not survive in the wild on their own.My boys loved reading the lists of food given to the animals (which is always posted.) We particularly loved the polar bear, the snakes and turtles, and my personal favorite, the river otters. We were able to watch the river otters get fed their daily fish and blueberry popsicle.We ate lunch in the huge picnic area. We chose to pack our lunches, but there is a food stand if you would like to purchase your own food.There is a large playground adjacent to the picnic area which the kids loved as well.My two year old Brody's favorite part of the trip was the train ride. The Ecotarium has a miniature steam train that goes throughout The Ecotarium, complete with a little tunnel, which the conductor highly encouraged all aboard to be as loud as they could while traveling through.To end our trip we spent a large chunk of time in the bubble station, which is outdoors, and thankfully so. There were bubble makers of every shape and size. It was very comparable to the bubble room in the Childrens Museum of Boston. I personally enjoyed it much more outside though, because it gave the kids (and me) more room to move around and make bigger bubbles.
We spent the whole day at The Ecotarium, and could have spent a bit more time there still. I could not recommend this place more. It was a fantastic break from the norm for us.
I'd love to hear about your thoughts on this place if you have gone!