Center will be open to the public on weekends starting this summer

The Walton County Board of County Commissioners approved a public-private partnership with E.O. Wilson Biophilia Center. The Center will be open to the public on the weekends starting June 1.

The E.O. Wilson Biophilia is an environmental facility serving students, teachers and professional audiences. The Center offers student curriculums that educate a better understanding of the environment; with its focus on the importance of biodiversity, ecosystems, conservation, preservation and restoration of our natural resources. The center is nestled in Northwest Florida’s diverse ecosystem, considered the 6th most biodiverse area in the continental U.S.

The exhibition hall sports live exhibits of bees, snakes and turtles, along with fabricated exhibitions such as a gopher tortoise burrow that students can crawl through.

Pine forest and wetland areas are displayed along with indigenous flora and fauna. Unlike museum collections, visitors can interact with the displays; and some produce cause-and-effect situations that show the impact man has on the environment. There is a piano-like keyboard children can step on to hear the sounds of fauna.

To learn more about the E.O. Wilson Biophilia Center go to: www.eowilsoncenter.org

From June 1 – August 31, the Biophilia Center will be open to the public:
Fridays – 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Saturdays – 8 a.m. – 2  p.m.
Sundays – 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.

In addition during the shoulder season, Sept. 1 through May 31, the Biophilia Center will be open to the public on Saturdays from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.