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January 31, 2009

Wild Center must-see for locals and visitors, too

When the Wild Center opened its doors in Tupper Lake two years ago, advance notice hailed it as "the information site on the natural history of the Adirondacks."

Somehow it has taken us this long to finally make our first visit. And we're sold! This ranks as a must-see place for both North Country natives and anyone traveling through the region.

The facility is handsome from the outside, with its stone columns and simulated "brainstorm" siding. A soaring atrium bordered by birch trees greets those entering the interior. Even on a cloudy day, the many windows assure a light, airy presence. Friendly smiles and quick offers of information from staff make visitors happy to be there.

TURTLE TRIO

A simulated glacier, complete with occasional avalanche, marks the beginning of the exhibit area. Immediately, one finds the mix of serious information and lightheartedness that makes the center appealing.

We learned that the last Ice Age saw a 2-mile-thick sheet of ice over upstate New York, formidable enough to make striations into bedrock and carry those massive boulders we see scattered through mountain and forest. Then there's a Dec. 3, 72996 B.C., newspaper headline -- "Schools were cancelled throughout the Northern Hemisphere for the 28th-million consecutive day." A global cooling crisis was blamed.

From there, one walks clockwise along the "Living River Trail," through exhibits awash with text, interactive posts and live animals. A re-created oxbow marsh shows northern pike and other fish swimming about. Wood ducks floated -- and occasionally raced -- atop the water. A trio of turtles basking on a log attracted plenty of attention.

At the Bog Lab, a cushioned platform gives the sensation of walking across a floating layer of sphagnum moss. Along with specimens of bog orchids and snapping turtles, there are insect-eating plants. An oversized model of a pitcher plant reveals the secrets of its effectiveness in trapping the insects it requires for dietary protein.

Later, we studied a trout stream filled with more live specimens. Concepts of flooding, food chains and the physics of water flow are presented.

This included learning a bit about bugs as well. A display of hand-tied fishing flies compares each with the insect it seeks to emulate. Alongside the tiny model of a trout brain and the much-larger human cerebrum, a poster notes that despite the difference in size and the thousands of books that teach how to successfully catch fish, the trout usually wins.

SWAMP SOUNDS

Units addressing the forest emphasize the "botanical land rush" (catchy phrases abound here) that began after retreat of the glaciers.

We found that trillium are sort of a catnip for ants and that Indian pipe has evolved in the dark to the point it no longer needs the chlorophyll on which most plants depend.

Anytime there are otters in captivity, the playful critters become the stars of the show. The frolicking duo of Squeaker and Squirt showed off their swimming and diving abilities, taking time in between to dig in the snow on a rocky ledge and play with a red bucket floating atop the water.

As a crowd stood mesmerized by the animals' antics, Leah, a staff biologist, added insight into the affable creatures. The Adirondacks boast a healthy otter population. They're opportunists, ready to take over a beaver lodge as a den or to use ice-fishing holes for diving. When not looking for fish (they'll also eat snakes and even birds when they can catch them) or entertaining humans, they're likely to slumber 12 hours a day.

Interactive options are everywhere here; the center makes use of all senses. You can study the delicately veined wings of dragonflies under a microscope, squeeze bulbs that emit the scents of mink and beavers (you'd want to avoid the musky odor of the former) and gently rummage through the stones of a stream bed.

One of my favorites was a keyboard set up to bring forth sounds of a swamp. I enjoyed playing a riff that included loon, cricket, barred owl and the fearsome buzz of the blackfly. (The sense of taste can only be activated in the Waterside Café, where the sandwiches and soups turned out to be quite good.)

ADIRONDACKIANA

Nuggets of knowledge are easily digested.

Upon finding that an estimated 1,600 red-backed salamanders might inhabit a single acre of Adirondack forest, I had to wonder why I spot them so infrequently. A black spruce's cells are resistant to freezing, explaining why these are the last trees to give way as one climbs toward the Arctic terrain atop some Adirondack summits.

Occasionally, I learned things I might have been better off not knowing. Like the idea that a garter snake might hole up together with as many as 8,000 of its comrades (including rattlers) in a single den.

"Find Out Forest" has its perimeter lined with interactive viewing screens amidst tall tree trunks. Touch-screens allow selection of short videos on wildlife, unusual places, regional journeys and innumerable other vignettes of Adirondackiana. I watched Plattsburgh State University Professor Ken Adams explain the uniqueness of sandstone pavement barrens in one clip then chose a short discussion on New York's foresighted protection of wilderness in the Adirondack Park.

One category, "Conversations," allowed me to see an interview with legendary guide and pilot Clarence Petty. Looking back a full century to his childhood, he remembered his father's advice: "You can make it on your own, or you can starve in the woods."

For instance, there's the response to falling through thin ice. "You learn how to roll out rather than claw your way out. "¦ You learn quick." Remember that!

Two movies are screened in the handsome auditorium. "Wild Adirondacks" is a tour de force of Carl Heilmann's panoramic photography of the region. The evocative display of color and mood is accompanied by an impressive musical score composed by a 21-year-old Potsdam State student.

In "A Matter of Degrees," narrator Sigourney Weaver imparts concepts of geology and glaciation with a warning on the nefarious implications of fossil-fuel-induced climate change.

Four hours just flew by for us. There's enough to see and hear (and smell) that my wife, Marty, and I could have completely different experiences at the facility, an indication that it will take many visits to exhaust all possibilities.

Temperatures hovering at around 10 below zero kept us inside that day, meaning we'll also have to return and walk (or snowshoe) the trails that surround the center.

rbforiole@aol.com

if you go
The Wild Center, 45 Museum Drive, Tupper Lake, NY 12986. Phone: 359-7800.

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