REXBURG — For Eastern Idaho, this time of year is accompanied with overcast skies, freezing temperatures and snow. At the Museum of Idaho in Idaho Falls though, people can escape to a more tropical climate with the museum’s newest exhibit.
The museum’s latest exhibit, “Under the Canopy,” highlights the rainforest with a unique experience as well — live animals. This exhibit is the first of its kind for the museum.
“This is a fun exhibit for us because we're always trying to do brand new things here at the Museum of Idaho and bring in things that people here have never seen,” said Jeff Carr, the director of the Museum of Idaho. “This exhibit is a real example of that. The main reason is because we have 20 species of live rainforest animals here in the museum for you to come see and hang out with.”
An exhibit with live animals presents new and exciting challenges for the museum as well as opportunities. Carr said that the museum has been wanting to do an exhibit like this for a while, and it has been a long time coming.
“The exhibit is put on by a company called Little Rays Nature Centers,” Carr said. “We have been in contact with them for many years, interested in what they do and who they are.”
Putting on the exhibit is a collaborative effort. The museum is working alongside the Idaho Falls Zoo to make sure the animals are properly cared for. There are also animal handlers assigned to the exhibit to care for the animals on a regular basis.
Not only can patrons come and visit the exhibit, but they can also schedule a time to interact with the animals.
“We just have scheduled animal presentations three times a day, six days a week, and then twice on Sundays,” Carr said. “Handlers also just walk around the exhibit pretty frequently with animals that you can get up close and personal to and they'll talk with you about them, and you can learn more. You can pay a little bit extra and schedule in advance through our website to come in and have a behind the scenes animal encounter.”
With so many ways to get up close and personal with these animals, the museum is hoping to make the most of the exhibit’s impact.
Carr said that, personally, “Under the Canopy” ranks near the top of his list of favorite exhibits he has worked on.
As much fun as the exhibit is, Carr said it will not last forever, but there is still much for patrons to do. The museum is also getting ready to introduce new events.
“We are going to be starting up some evening hours, which will make the Museum of Idaho a little bit more of a feasible date night for people,” Carr said. “And, we have a brand-new exhibit, of course, coming in June, which is also something that we've never had before. I'll just tease it a little bit that I think the community is going to be really excited about exploring the science of flight.”
The museum is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. General admission is $14. “Under the Canopy” ends at the beginning of May. For more information and to schedule an animal encounter, visit www.museumofidaho.org.