It’s all about the animals in part 3 of our 2023 Fall Adventure as we visit the Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium and Wild Animal Safari.

 Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium

A popular outing in Springfield, Missouri, is the Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium. Johnny Morris is the man behind the museum and aquarium. As majority owner of Great American Outdoors Group, he owns Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s sporting goods and outdoor stores.

Located adjacent to the Bass Pro Shops National headquarters and store, Wonders of Wildlife operates as a not-for-profit educational conservation-themed attraction. It definitely should be at the top of any what-to-do-in-Springfield, Missouri list.

Wait a minute. Is that boat Ernest Hemingway’s Pilar? Can’t be. The original resides at the Museo Ernest Hemingway in Finca Vigia, Cuba. And I believe the Pilar sister boat is in the Bass Pro Shops in Islamorada, Florida. The boat in Springfield, Missouri, is a replica.

Massive murals throughout the facility depict various background scenery. It took six years and a dozen artists to paint all the murals.

The current wildlife museum and aquarium opened to the public on September 22, 2017, after an $80 million expansion to 350,000 square foot facility. The project took a decade to complete.

The wildlife museum includes a Louisiana swamp, an Ozark forest, and an Amazon rainforest. The aquarium holds 1.5 million gallons (5.7 million liters) of water, and 35,000 individual fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals call the museum and aquarium home.

Throughout the aquarium are tunnels where kids and kids at heart can pop up and see what it’s like to have fish swimming around their heads.

For guests craving a safe way to have a shark encounter, they can opt for the shark dive or shark dive feeding frenzy for ages 10 and up. There’s also a penguin encounter for ages four and up.

The Shipwreck Reef exhibit depicts how artificial reefs protect coral and boost tourism for diving and fishing. The Johnny Morris Offshore Angler Reef off the coast of Florida is such a reef. It contains the Sucre, a 237-foot vessel. A placard discusses the benefits the reefs provide to marine life and research opportunities.

A sign outside the replica of the original Bass Pro Shops Store says the “original doors, cabinetry, lighting, fixtures, roof, ceiling, and aquarium” were used to create the replica. Morris began his bass fishing business at the back of his father’s liquor store in Springfield, Missouri.

One section of the museum is dedicated to the various presidents who showed off their trout and bass fish catches.

Bass Pro Shops got its start within 8-square feet inside a liquor store for the first 13 years. For more history about Bass Pro Shops and Johnny Morris, visit https://about.basspro.com/our-founder. As of this writing, there are around 200 Bass Pro Shops in North America, each reflecting the community in which they were built, along with a commitment to community and conservation.

Taxidermy animals stand in for the live animals in the dioramas that depict their natural habitat.

Plan spending an hour or more to see the all the exhibits and displays. Our whole family enjoyed wandering around. And if hunger strikes, take a break and grab a bite to eat.

Wild Animal Safari Springfield/Strafford

Board a bus for a tour of the park and learn about the animals and their habits, or drive your vehicle through the park. Food is available for purchase to feed the animals. But watch out for the camels. They have no qualms about sticking their big heads in the window and stealing bags of food from the passengers. They are fast, as Jackson can attest to, as he was a victim of one of their attacks.

The safari contains sixty-five animal species along a five-mile trail within 350 acres of land. The animals have learned that food is on the way whenever the bus comes through. Some of them come running as if they hadn’t eaten for days, while others take their time ambling along to reach the bus. The bus driver always accommodated the slow pokes.

For an additional fee, guests can arrange for an up close encounter with the animals, under the watchful supervision of a zookeeper, of course. These encounters allow small groups to learn about the animal’s habitat, feeding, and conservation efforts.

Be sure to read the safety considerations listed on the website to avoid any situations that might put the animals or people in danger.

The safari also included a walkabout zoo. It was hard to take photos through the cages.

As we compared our experience at Wild Animal Safari to Safari West in Santa Rosa, California (see the Safari West post), we much preferred the one in California. Safari West comes out on top for its larger acreage, safari-like vehicles, and knowledgeable guides. They also had a better walk-around portion with more animals, birds, and vegetation. Although we still had fun at Wild Animal Safari.

Up Next: From Marshfield, Missouri, we take a side trip to Little Rock, Arkansas, and check out the Clinton Museum.

Safe Travels