Wild Center takes No. 2 spot in USA Today Best Science Museum contest

The Wild Center is extending its gratitude to fans who voted in USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards for Best Science Museum for which The Wild Center placed second, according to a news release from the museum.

In USA Today’s 2023 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards, fans voted for The Wild Center among a list of 20 nominees, including some of the largest science museums in the country.

Only the Center of Science and Industry in Columbus, Ohio, earned higher marks.

The Museum Association’s “Excellence in Design” award acknowledges extraordinary achievement in design in three categories: Publications/Graphics, Media/Marketing Campaigns, and Exhibition Design. The Wild Center is being recognized for its transformational visitor experiences, community engagement and innovative programs that use collections to tell stories of everyone who calls New York home.

Climate Solutions opened in July and aims to change the dialogue and shift people’s mindsets about climate change. Constructed with upcycled and repurposed materials, the exhibition features hands-on interactives, multimedia storytelling, interactive learning and immersive experiences. Large-scale portraits showcase 12 people across upstate New York who are working on climate solutions.

Climate Solutions was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and a gift from Peter and Hela Kindler.

“We’re proud to have earned this recognition from MANY,” Stephanie Ratcliffe, executive director of The Wild Center, said in the release. “In this time of required urgency to act, The Wild Center’s ambition is to change the dialogue about climate change from hopeless to hopeful. Informed by social science and touched by human stories, “Climate Solutions” offers tangible examples of how people are thinking about new ways to mitigate our own everyday impact and encourage change in society at large.”

Natalie Stetson, the co-chair of the MANY Program Committee, said New York’s museums and museum professionals are “reimagining and reinventing their roles within their communities, how they interpret their stories and collections, and the visitor experience.”

“This year’s award winners are outstanding examples for the museum field,” she added.

The Wild Center is among 14 other museums in New York being honored at MANY’s annual conference, “Finding Center: Access, Inclusion, Participation, and Engagement,” April 17 at the Syracuse Marriott Downtown.

Located in the heart of the Adirondacks, The Wild Center is situated on a 115-acre campus that’s home to more than 900 live animals. A 54,000-square-foot building houses the center’s main exhibits, while trails, a private pond and river frontage form the outdoor experience.

For more on The Wild Center, visit www.wildcenter.org.