E. O. Wilson Biophilia Center construction nears completion
Posted 04-14-2009 at 11:33 AM by Walton Outdoors
Diagram of east wall bee exhibit which will house a live beehive.Facility will provide extraordinary learning opportunities
The long awaited $7 million dollar, 28,500 sq. ft. E.O. Wilson Biophilia Center has taken shape, with construction completion slated for June and grand opening in September.
Developed by local conservationist, M.C. Davis on his 48,000-acre conservation land named Nokuse Plantation, the Center will offer students and visitors spectacular interactive exhibits which will offer a better understanding of the environment as well as educate on the importance of biodiversity, ecosystems, and to encourage conservation, preservation and restoration.
Buildings nearing completion.Features of the Center include an exhibit hall, multi-purpose classrooms, science labs, dioramas, and a 160-seat theater. There will also be live exhibits of bees, snakes and turtles such as a gopher tortoise burrow that students can crawl through. Unlike museum collections, visitors can touch and climb on these displays; and some produce cause-and-effect situations that show the impact man has on the environment.
Students will be able to view an extensive exhibit on pollinators, with live bees. A video shows the “waggle dance” that illustrates how bees communicate. A model of the food web will demonstrate how it collapses when a producer is removed.
Activities also include examining aquatic insects and fish, studying different restoration methods, and monitoring amphibians and songbirds.
Wild azaleas found along the .9-mile trail.In addition, visitors to the Center will have an opportunity to learn about the natural environment both indoors and outside along an extensive trail system .9-mile long, with a 610 ft. boardwalk that crosses through a hardwood swamp, and around a beaver pond.
The project was started in May of 2008. pv+r, llc are project designers/project leads and Wallrap Architecture and Interior Design of Tampa, the architect. Synergy Inc. of Tallahassee helped create the design of the exhibits and Peter Brown Construction, the general contractor. Christina Scally is the Center’s Director.
This 18' wide by 6' tall indigo bunting will be part of a display.The Center is named after world-renowned scientist Dr. Edward O. Wilson, Pellegrino University Professor Emeritus and Honorary Curator in Entomology at Harvard University, for his life-long contributions to public education about the importance of conserving the world’s biodiversity. The two-time Pulitzer prize winner developed “biophilia - the connections that human beings subconsciously seek with the rest of life.”
The Center will be the location of the Nov. 5 Tourist Development Council’s Environmental Forum slated for November 5.
The E. O. Wilson Biophilia Center is on the south side of Highway 20 between Freeport and Bruce, approximately 4 miles east of Highway 331.
For more information about the Center go to: http://www.eowilsoncenter.org/
Lori Ceier is the publisher of WaltonOutdoors.com, an online zine about outdoor life in Walton County. She can be reached via email at: lori@waltonoutdoors.com
Total Comments 5
Comments
-
Thanks Lori! I can't wait to check it out in the Fall.Posted 04-15-2009 at 07:34 AM by kurt
-
This is fantastic I can't wait!!!!Posted 04-19-2009 at 10:13 PM by ItzKatzTime
-
what a great place for the children...of all ages! I am so looking forward to it. Thanks for posting and thanks to MC for his vision.Posted 04-19-2009 at 10:36 PM by goodwitch58
-
I plan meetings for a living and this looks like a fantastic, out of the box kind of place to bid to some of my clients that need this type of facility. I'm coming down this weekend to look for a place to live for a while away from Texas, so thought I might run by and check this out. Are we allowed to get near the buildings to see inside? Any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks. Mollie Wallace-NewtonPosted 04-22-2009 at 08:52 PM by wallace56
-
You can go to the website: E.O. Wilson Biophilia Center at Nokuse Plantation
There is contact information there with email and information form.Posted 04-22-2009 at 09:17 PM by Walton Outdoors
Total Trackbacks 0
