This summer, The Wild Center invites visitors to explore new immersive outdoor installations, hands-on indoor exhibits, and engaging seasonal programming. New this year: a fresh composition by students from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam makes its home within Forest Music, an immersive trail that harmonizes music and nature in a one-of-a-kind woodland soundscape.

Starting May 23, The Wild Center is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets can be purchased on The Wild Center’s website at wildcenter.org/visit and include access to the award-winning Wild Walk, immersive Forest Music experience and hiking trails. Daily activities include animal encounters, fish-feeding demonstrations and programs with The Wild Center’s North American River Otters. Guided canoe trips on the Raquette River are offered on Sundays in June and return to seven days a week from Jul. 1 through Sept. 1 at 1 p.m. Naturalist-led exploration activities will take place on Wild Walk and across campus daily.

Set along a winding trail on the museum’s campus, Forest Music places 24 speakers throughout the forest to create a serene and immersive listening experience. This year, The Wild Center and the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam are thrilled to announce a groundbreaking collaboration showcasing the talents of four student composers: Adam Beiter (Deer Diary), Maria Tartaglia (Enchanting Tranquility), Kellie Sakura Tang (Shisaku no Toki), and William Codd (Awareness). Each piece, created specifically for the trail, blends seamlessly with the forest ambiance to create a multi-sensory, meditative experience.

The Fen Trail, opened in 2024 as a down-and-back path to the Raquette River fen on a previously unexplored section of The Wild Center’s campus, is also getting an update. This season, the Fen Trail is set to expand into a mile-long loop with additional Raquette River Roll stations—interactive ball runs made from natural materials that offer even more opportunities for hands-on play.

The trail is included with admission, and visitors can purchase wooden balls for $6 and by members for $5.

From July 3–6, unplug and reconnect with the natural world at the Get Outside Festival—a four-day celebration of outdoor adventure, creativity, and hands-on exploration. Festival highlights include live glassblowing demonstrations from the Corning Museum of Glass Mobile Hot Shop, the You Otter Run 5K, guided canoe trips on the Raquette River, fly fishing, nature journaling, and building stick forts. Guests can also tap into their creative side with outdoor art projects, nature-inspired crafts, and guided painting sessions.

Birdly, a state-of-the-art virtual reality (VR) flying simulator, will return for its third year. Using cutting-edge technology, a motion platform, wind effects and a 4K display, visitors get to enjoy the unique and thrilling sensation of flying as a bird over natural landscapes. Flights are available for $6 per person.

Other special programming throughout the summer includes National Pollinator Week June 17-23, the Science Speaker Series, Adirondack Water Week Aug. 3-13 and more. For more details on these and other upcoming events, please visit wildcenter.org/calendar.