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Thursday, June 10, 2021
GO! magazine — A&E in Northeast Oregon
Explore terrain, science with Wallowology
■ ■ Natural history discovery center is open weekly, and Discovery Walks are held Fridays and Saturdays
By Katy Nesbitt
Go! Magazine
JOSEPH — Driving into Joseph,
a bright green wooly mammoth
invites science lovers to explore the
exhibits and expeditions offered by
the Wallowology Natural History
Discovery Center.
The center is open Thursday
through Sunday from 10 a.m. to
3 p.m. throughout the summer
season. Bre Austin, educational
programs coordinator, said the chil-
dren’s area in the loft will remain
closed this season due to COVID-19
precautions, but the upstairs li-
brary will be open by appointment.
Featured this summer is the ani-
mal tracks exhibit on the center’s
porch, complete with activities and
free science to-go kits for kids.
“The grab bags are art and sci-
ence themed and change every two
weeks,” Austin said.
Wallowology is the educational
branch of the Eastern Oregon
Legacy Lands with a mission to
develop programming that encour-
ages appreciation for the natural
world. Based in science and educa-
tion, EOLL’s natural and cultural
history programs include research,
conservation planning, and policy
development.
Contributed photo/Wallowology
Wallowology offers guided hikes into Wallowa County’s wildlands and open spaces.
“While the center has indoor
exhibits, they are all about the
outdoors,” Austin said.
At Wallowology, visitors learn
about birds, rocks, ecosystems and
biomes, all artfully displayed with
beautiful photographs, maps and
interpretive descriptions.
“We want to educate people
about all the different systems you
can see in our county that make
our land worth taking care of,”
Austin said. “The Center, and our
extended walks, are ways to put
our words into action.”
Now that many of the COVID-19
restrictions are relaxing, Austin
said the staff is eager to make the
offerings more robust and expand
programming geared toward
school-aged kids and adults alike
including lectures and guided
hikes.
Two-hour discovery walks,
roughly three miles in length, are
offered twice a week and led by
naturalists pointing out the natu-
ral world hikers are experiencing
firsthand.
Discovery walks are scheduled
each Friday and Saturday through-
out the summer from 9 to 11 a.m.
Austin said the Friday walks start
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at different locations, listed at www.
wallowology.org, and the Saturday
hikes start from the Wallowa Lake
Lodge.
Registration is required for
Friday walks, with a 10-person
maximum group size. To register
email info@wallowology.org.
Extended hikes, which will be
announced on the website, will
be all-day hikes of seven or eight
miles.
“Wallowology’s outreach pro-
grams extend into the outdoors
through guided Discovery Walks,
river expeditions, visits to farms
and ranches, and longer outings
into wilderness and backcountry
areas,” said David Mildrexler, the
Center’s systems ecologist. “These
activities connect people to our
region’s unique landscapes and rich
natural and cultural history.”
On the lecture side of the
Center’s offerings, Austin said an
astronomer will host a star gazing
event in early July. The date will be
posted to the website soon.
“We are collaborating with
the Wallowa Lake Lodge for our
natural and cultural history-based
summer lecture series, held once a
month in the lodge’s lobby,” Austin
said.