Hold on to Your Hard Hats!
We've been hard at work behind the scenes on Orlando Science Center's most ambitious construction project to date. Our new permanent animal and nature exhibit, Life, presented by Dr. Sarah Layton, is racing towards completion faster than a cheetah chasing its prey! Life is a complete reimagining and expansion of our old NatureWorks exhibit, so this space is closed to the public during the construction process.
We've conquered design, demolished obstacles, erected new infrastructure, and put together habitats and life support systems. We are nearing the end of construction and are 90% complete! The exhibit will be ready and open to the public in Spring 2024.
Soon, we'll be entering the next phase by enhancing the exhibit space with theming and introducing our Animal Ambassadors into their new home! Picture birds flying over your head in the rainforest and starfish basking in the water just a hand-touch away.
Meet the Ambassadors
As we prepare habitats for our animals, we're slowly welcoming new ambassadors to our crew. We have recently welcomed two sun conures, two burrowing owls, and two Madagascar tenrecs, and we have a few more animals on the way. The health and safety of our living collection is of utmost importance to us, so we make sure all of our acquisitions, quarantine processes, and care procedures are up to the standards of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) - the highest standards in animal care and welfare.
New animals need some time to adjust to their new surroundings before meeting guests, so you might not meet our newest residents just yet. But you can still say hello to our other animal ambassadors, like Luna and Poppy the chinchillas, Memphis the skunk, Captain the macaw, Betsy the Burmese python, Blue the eastern indigo... you get the picture! You have a chance to meet our ambassadors twice a day, every day this summer! Just check the calendar for Meet a Snake or Life with Animals.
As we welcome new friends (whether furry or feathered, spiky or shelled!), we have also expanded our animal care team. Numerous keepers with experience caring for species native to the swamp, ocean, and rainforest habitats have joined our Orlando Science Center team. Led by Curator Shannon Zimmerman and Animal Care Manager Jenny Volz, the Life team has grown to suit the needs of our newest animal residents - and of course, the needs of our beloved existing ambassadors like Captain and Memphis! Be sure to stay in touch via email and social media, where we'll be sharing more updates as progress continues.