What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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JUNE 26-JULY 2, 2022 WHAT'S UP! 37 SPRINGFIELD , MO. Formal Attire Optional Penguins welcome visitors to cool WOW home BECCA MARTIN-BROWN NWA Democrat-Gazette T he weather across the Arkansas and Missouri Ozarks has been pretty frightful — and if you hate the heat, Johnny Morris' Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium just might be a delightful getaway. The whole 350,000-square-foot "experience" next to Bass Pro Shops in Springfield, Mo., is air conditioned, of course, and offers 1.5 miles of immersive 4-D trails to explore; 35,000 live fish, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and birds to see; and 1.5 million gallons of freshwater and saltwater habitats where you can touch a stingray, traverse an underwater tunnel surrounded by river monsters and plunge to the depths of the ocean among spectacular sharks. Or you can visit the penguins — where it's 43 degrees in their habitat and about the same temperature for guests. The aquarium, envisioned by Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris, opened in September 2017, and the penguins were added that December. Asked why penguins, Assistant Curator Shawn Styrcula asks: "Why not penguins?" "Penguins are a guest favorite across many zoos and aquariums, so we thought it would be 'cool' to bring them to ours," Styrcula says. A species called "Gentoo," the WOW penguins are acclimated to cold weather like that found in Antarctica, "so we always must make sure their habitat is staying at an appropriate temperature and humidity — one thing that Southwest Missouri has a lot of is heat and humidity," Styrcula says. "They have their own cooling unit and dehumidifier to ensure their habitat is kept nice and cool below 45 degrees and low humidity. "Penguins need plenty of room to swim and places to get out of the water," he explains about creating their habitat. "They need rockwork or other visual and physical barriers that they can separate themselves from each other if they want to. Gentoo penguins also build their nests out of rocks/pebbles, so we provide plenty of them for that. "The penguin's favorite enrichment is bubbles," he adds. "They love to chase them and pop them with their beaks. They also get a variety of other items to stimulate natural behaviors such as fish broadcasts in the water and small toys they can manipulate or investigate. During the wintertime, when snow amounts allow, the penguins sometimes get to go outside and hang out, too." Penguins fit into the mission of WOW because they are "a wonder of nature," Styrcula says. "They show the amazing adaptations that animals have to live in their environments, in this case a cold, frigid land where they must swim to catch their food. They help to promote a message of conserving nature for future generations." Styrcula says the penguins are "definitely interested" in their keepers, especially at feeding time, which prepares them for interaction with the public during the Penguin Encounters. During the 30- to 45-minute Penguin Encounter at WOW, visitors spend about 15 minutes inside Penguin Cove and receive a commemorative T-shirt and a photo. (Courtesy Photo/Matt Suess) See WOW Page 38