EcoTarium

My family and I were pleasantly surprised during our visit here. Although the train was still out of commission, the exhibits were great and my kids had a blast playing outside. To top it off, mothers and grandmas were free on Mothers Day! Will definitely do the hour drive to return.

We went for the first time this weekend. The kids (boys– age 3 and 4) loved it. While the inside is smallish, it’s very interactive. The kids had a ton of fun with the exhibits and watching the presentation of reptiles and amphibians. the crowds were reasonable too. As a parent and an adult, i sometimes have to put myself in my kids’ shoes. I was worried the inside might be a little underwhelming for them. However, even the things I thought might not be exciting were for them. Even the water fountain was fun!
It was cold outside and the train wasn’t running, but the boys still had a blast on the playground, nature trail, and seeing the outdoor animal exhibits (raptors, owls, fox, otters, skunks, etc).
The Ecotarium’s strength is not in the quality of the exhibits (they don’t compare to most local zoos or the Museum of Science in Boston); but rather in the combination of indoor/​outdoor exhibits and the interactive design of the exhibits. The large grounds provide an open-​ended world for kids to play without as much «no don’t do/​touch that!» from Mom and Dad. We’ll definitely be back. We drove from Dartmouth, MA by the way. Worth it. If I were local, I’d be a member.

The EcoTarium is an amazing and interactive museum that inspires others to explore the natural world. There is plenty to do inside as there is outside. Kids will love this place, but there is plenty for adults to learn, too! Open year round, CLOSED ON MONDAYS! Great educational programming for preschoolers, field trip groups, and the public. Planetarium shows are a great add on. This museum also has nature trails around ponds — truly an urban oasis! The wildlife that are on exhibit are here because they could not be released into the wild because of injuries and being imprinted by humans. The EcoTarium truly cares about the well-​being of their wildlife. Definitely a must see for central Massachusetts!

Came here with a group of students and was expecting a lot more considering the size of this place. There are three floors, but I wish there were a lot more interactive stations for the children to be involved in. We moved quickly from one floor to the other as there are not enough activities for the kids. Once we were outside, the students were excited to go on the trail to see the different animals, but the entire trail was closed off for renovations. There should be at least a discount since we only go to see half the place! We got back to the school way sooner than expected. It’s a pretty basic science center. I would just go to the Boston one.

The kids love this place. They will chase the otters back and forth all day. In the summer, you can go on a nature walk. In the winter, the visit doesn’t usually last as long as I would like it, as it is on the smaller side.

Unfortunately, this place is not nearly as fun in the cold weather as it was in warmer seasons. They take down «Play on the Plaza» until May, and when it’s too cold to enjoy the playground/​outdoor exhibits, you notice just how fast your child breezes through the indoor exhibits. I hear they’ll provide sleds once it snows, but until then we’ll probably only be going Wednesday morning for story/​craft time.

We took my 2 year old here today but were unimpressed. We wanted to like it, we really did! Lots of exhibits are closed and many are very dated. The exhibits are not really geared toward 2 year olds. Not a lot of enthusiasm by staff interacting with us. Overall, we were all pretty bored. My son enjoyed the sandbox but honestly we could have gone anywhere for that. Thankfully, we had our museum of science membership which got us in for free. If we had paid we’d have been pretty disappointed.

There were a few exhibits closed or under construction when we went. That being said, we still had a good time. My sister in law suggested we go, so we ventured out one Thursday. It was a beautiful, albeit windy, day. They have a few live animal exhibits and a fair amount of «how stuff works» exhibits. You can bring your own lunch, and they have nice outdoor seating. There’s also a playground for the kids to let off some steam. All and all it was a nice day.

Good place to spend an afternoon, especially if it is cloudy or rainy. There was a fun hands on bubble exhibit at the entrance during the summer, which we thoroughly enjoyed. In no way does this replace the Museum of Science, it is way smaller and the exhibits are less sophisticated, but my 8 year old daughter very much enjoyed our time and took advantage of most if not all the interactive exhibits. The staff and volunteers we friendly, helpful and informative.

It sounded promising but, with the train and several exhibits closed, we were a little disappointed from the start. There is a fair amount of wear and tear on most of the exhibits. We did enjoy the Planetarium and the staff member running the film and answering questions was great. Otherwise the facility seemed to be staffed mostly by volunteers. Some were just doing their job, some volunteers were not only unhelpful, they were playing with the exhibits (which didn’t allow visiting children to play) and not interacting with the kids at all.
Finally, I’m kind of over huge daycares, schools and summer programs visiting museums and seeming to have zero supervision. I would be perfectly fine with museums being closed at times to host field trips. Until that happens, it would be great if groups were supervised by their own teachers/​staff and maybe even museum staff… it does seem like it would be an overwhelming task to take such a large group of kids to any venue, let alone a place they are running around. Of course Ecotarium would need much better volunteer and staff training.

Great place to spend a few hours with the kids. Plenty to see and do inside and out. We walked the trails and saw a bunch of wild animals. If you are lucky, you may see a real train pass on the nearby train tracks along the trail around the pond. Would definitely go back in the summer. Pack a lunch and enjoy the playground/​picnic area!

While I town visiting my sisters family, we decided to unleash our combined 4 boys loose at the Ecotarium for the afternoon. For us, the visit was free… yes, folks, purchase the ATSC science passport, and enjoy reciprocity at hundreds of science museums. Jackpot!
As far as kids science museums go, this one is pretty darn good. Inside, the mount Washington exhibit had some really cool hands on displays… my favorite was the 78 mph wind tunnel. Second story had ecosystems and dinosaur tracks, and first floor had more ecosystems. All exhibits were functioning, clean, and informative. Outside, various birds were on display in cages– bald eagles, hawks, owls– and the sea otter display was great, especially seeing them get their fruit and fish Popsicle, a giant hunk of ice with foods frozen inside.
We stayed for 2 hours, but cold have stayed longer.
Only irony of the day was the line of traffic outside-​12 cars long, all idling… waiting to pay at the front gate, due to downed computer systems. Aha, irony… idling, wasting gas, destroying ozone while trying to get into the Ecotarium. Not funny, but ironic.
Worcester, this is a feather in your cap. Enjoy it.

I like the Ecotarium. It’s a great place for kids. It kind of flies under the radar for people in this area, but it’s very pleasant to spend a day there. They are currently in rediscovery mode. What I mean is they have a new president who came on to re-​invent the place. It is looking better and better every day with more activities. some really excellent ideas are being implemented. They knew the deal. and what they needed so they are doing their best. How do I know this? I have had events here and spoken to our contact about what is happening. Very exciting time for the Ecotarium. Bring your kids here and support this great non-​profit.

i wish Kenda didnt pass away
i also love it

Great little place here! Bear in mind we paid a grand total of zero dollars to enter (man I love that ASTC passport program!!!), but there is definitely lots to do and see that would justify actually paying for admission. :)
I’m not going to go into the details on exhibits, because it’s been covered here plenty. I will say it’s definitely geared towards kids of good reading age, though there are plenty of things to keep the smaller kids occupied as well. Pushing buttons, climbing, checking stuff out on a more cursory level… you know how it goes when they’re too young to read (or just not interested in being still long enough to do so, which is the category MY lovely four-​year-​old falls into, haha). There’s a little play area for wee ones as well, which is a trend in kids’ places that I’m really loving. A lot of the exhibits appeared to be new, and it seems like they’re definitely moving towards a more interactive style — AWESOME.
The whole facility was clean and uncluttered, and everything seemed to be in working order. There was a snack bar looking place with no food being served (and a sign that said just that), but they did have a separate little room with several vending machines and lots of tables. Points off for not offering a better selection of healthy /​natural snacks though, meh. And make sure you bring change or single dollar bills — I didn’t see a change machine anywhere, the machines only took coins or $ 1 bills, and they didn’t have a credit card slot on any of them either. I did appreciate that they had recycling containers set up in there. They have a great little gift shop with some really cool items beyond your standard t-​shirts and such, which I love to see.
The main thing I wanted to come here and gush about though? The animal encounter. The day we went, we caught a little program on owls in the forest secrets area on the middle level, and I was seriously blown away. I’m sure it didn’t hurt that there were only two kids there, both age 4−½, so things could be very cozy and intimate and very interactive vs in a larger group setting. But the lady (Kathy) doing the presentation? So very awesome, and I’m sure she could handle a big group just as deftly. She was super patient with these little guys, listened to (and participated in) their clues and their (awful) jokes and if she didn’t actually enjoy every second of it you would Never Know It. She got down on their level and had actualy conversations with them about the owls and what they eat, and somehow managed to gently steer them back to the topic without ever discounting whatever random thing they happened to be saying at the time when necessary. She didn’t appear to be rushed or in a hurry to move the program along at all, and was super knowledgeable with the questions they (and me too, ahem) were asking. Just… fabulous, every second of it. Having a super staff who loves what they’re doing (and who digs little kids, obviously) is a huge plus in my book.
So the place and the exhibits and the whole ball of wax? A solid 4 stars. Kathy the owl encounter lady shuld have her own page, though, so I can give her the ten stars she deserves. :D

Had a great time. Kids loved it

I visited the EcoTarium in Worcester with my family recently. Having lived in the area my whole life I wasn’t surprised that I had never visited before. If you drove past it, without having picked it as a destination, you wouldn’t even know it was there. It is kind of sad since it has so much potential and is a great place to go with young kids. My sister-​in-​law and I went with three little ones.
My 4yo niece, 6yo nephew and 35yo bother had a great time. They got to experience 74+ mph winds, climb a rock wall, learn about Asian longhorn beetles, see a huge boa constrictor snakes, size themselves up to a massive slide of a Redwood tree, witness an American icon the bald eagles, and see many other great things. One of the cool new attractions that they had was a video tour of Mount Washington called «The Arctic Next Door». The video simulated the journey to the top of the mountain and you could play it forward or reverse.
They also have an awesome interactive learning center where people of all ages can learn games called the «Playing Together: Games» exhibit. Here you can learn games like Chess, Checkers, Mancala, Skittles, etc. This section while cool was an annoying place to be. They have a large chess board and my nephew who has been learning wanted to play. No one was using it and we went through the process of setting the board up. Of course once someone was actually trying to use it everyone wanted to and other kids start moving the pieces around and their parents not saying a word. Control your children people and tell them to wait their turn when it was obvious we were playing a game.
They also have an extensive network of trails and an outdoor train which you can ride (too cold today).
They also have a large list of animals at the facility but they just sat in a cage or case and you could only look in. I felt bad for the Bald Eagles however. These large birds were cages out near the parking lot and looked miserable. They were so far away from the facility that no one even stopped to see them. They are spectacular and it was a shame that more attention wasn’t given to an icon of America.
Additionally I thought we were going to get some kind of lesson about Boa Constrictors when two staff members came and opened the case with the snake. Of course they drew a large crowd and we were all disappointed when all they did was weigh it and put it back and disappear. We were there for several hours and other then the weighing of the snake we saw or heard nothing from any staff members.
At $ 14.00 for an adult and $ 8.00 for a child it was a bit of a letdown. I would have liked to have seen more interactive exhibits with staff explaining things. A more obvious path to enjoy the exhibits might also help improve the experience. There was no flow to the exhibits and it was kind of a free for all with people jockeying for their chance with some of the cooler exhibits.
With the cold weather maybe I didn’t get to experience everything the facility had to offer but I would not rush back unfortunately. It has so much potential and a great resource in our city. Hopefully they can find ways to improve. I am going to give it 3 stars because I didn’t get to experience the outside.

This is a great place, both in the winter and the summer. There is a polar bear display — we were once there on a bitter cold January day and the polar bear was in heaven. She even responds to her name — my children were fascinated by her. There are several beautiful birds on display as well — hawks, eagles, etc. I actually felt badly for the birds, until I learned that they were all rescued animals and could not have survived in the wild due to various injuries.
We enjoyed the indoor displays as well. This is a great place for kids under age 7.
Ecotarium is part of the ACM Reciprocal Progam, so we always get in free because we have a membership at a partner museum.

indoor and outdoor fun. Lots of things to do with children of all ages. Tons of hands on exhibits inside and a handful of animal exhibits outside.
My son enjoyed the train ride and running around the grounds. There are plenty of picnic benches and places to sit and eat (for those of us that bring our lunch).
They’re partnered with the Museum of Science so if you have a membership at the MoS then you get into the Ecotarium free.

A nice, open airy building and sizeable grounds. Our two and a half year old was so happy standing in the brisk air gazing at the polar bear (a nice sized enclosure versus the zoo). The train ride was so sweet as well.
The exhibits here were perfect for our toddler and just as enjoyable as her normal haunt (the Childrens Museum) although less of them. Fortunately it wasn’t nearly the madhouse that the children’s museum is on weekends.
We’ll definitely be back here but will pick a warmer day so we can linger more outside at the exhibits and trail. Although it was great that they had complimentary sleds for tobaggoning on this snowy day :)