Wonderfully Wild

10/04/2024

Looking forward to seeing you this Saturday 🦔🐍🦎🐢. Here are some more details on all the wonderful things that will be going on. (Click the link for an itinerary and map)

The mission of the Conococheague Institute is to develop and foster awareness, understanding and stew

15/03/2024

Getting excited for April 13th at the Conococheague Institute!

13/03/2024

Come out to see us at the Conococheague Institute April 13th! 🦔🦎🐍🐢

15/11/2023

Happy Steve Irwin Day
"Conservation is my job, my life, my whole persona."

178.1K likes, 3507 comments. “Today, November 15 is Steve Irwin Day. A day to remember our dad, the greatest Wildlife Warrior on the planet. He was one man who changed the world forever and continues to inspire the next generations. ”

08/07/2022

It is a very bittersweet day for Wonderfully Wild.

Today marks our dear friend Brittany Wedd's final day at Discovery Station. 🥺

When I first started WW in 2018, it was a slow start and I was starting to think maybe this dream wouldn't come true.

I posted on a local page and someone asked if I did shows at Discovery Station. Before I had time to respond, Brittany jumped in and said she would be thrilled to have us!

A few days later, I met the wonderful Brittany Wedd in person. I had no idea then that I would be meeting one of the most amazing people I'd ever have the chance to meet. Or that I would be lucky enough to make a lifelong friend, whose fire and passion reignited my spark and continues to keep it lit.

Brittany's knowledge, love, compassion, kindness, fierceness, selflessness, and light has touched so many of us. She has changed mine (and my kid's) life, and I'm sure many people have experienced the same.

Her contribution to this community, especially it's children, cannot be overstated.

Thank you for being my lightmaker, and thank you for giving us the opportunity to have all of the wonderful experiences we've had teaching kid's and their families about the wonderfully wild world around them.

I look forward to continuing to watch you shine and to keep spreading our light (as we all know you will🥰).

WE LOVE YOU MISS BRITTANY!!
❤️Ms.Jenny, Mr.Lonnie, Kiera, Otto, Mr. Eko, Kurma, Mr. Noodle, and Thorn 🦎🐢🐍🦔

09/05/2022

Happy Birthday David Attenborough!

Subscribe and 🔔 to the BBC 👉 https://bit.ly/BBCYouTubeSubWatch the BBC first on iPlayer 👉 https://bbc.in/iPlayer-HomeHappy 96th Birthday David Attenboroug...

24/04/2022

We had an amazing time at Discovery Station!
Thank you to everyone who came out to meet the critters🐢🦔🐍

22/04/2022

Join us at Discovery Station tomorrow for some animals and Earth Day fun🦔🐢🐍🪳🌳

26/03/2022

We had such a wonderful time at Discovery Station today! Thank you so much to everyone who came out to meet our critters!

*If you took pictures at the show, please feel free to share them in the comments. We love seeing your photos 📸*

03/03/2022

30/11/2021

It’s and that means it's your chance support Discovery Station by making a tax-deductible donation here: https://discoverystation.org/give/

A donation of $25 can support quality hands-on programs for children like Kiera and Otto!

29/11/2021

It’s almost —a global day of and one of your biggest chances to give back to causes for which you’re ! You can support Discovery Station this by making a tax-deductible donation here: https://discoverystation.org/give/

At Discovery Station, we are grateful to all of our families, supporters, volunteers, and staff members who help make Discovery Station the wonderful nonprofit children's museum that it is!

Since our founding in 1996, the mission of Discovery Station has been to create an environment that stimulates curiosity and promotes life-long learning. To date, more than 175,000 children and adults have enjoyed our exhibits and programs, and that number continues to grow!

That's why we would like to personally invite you to support Discovery Station's mission ahead of this Giving Tuesday!

In the past year, Discovery Station has:

🤖 Updated its Robotics Exhibit with Cognito neurotech, making Discovery Station one of the first children's museums in the country to give children access to technology that allows them to control the movement of robots with headsets

🐸 Installed an Exploration Rainforest Exhibit, allowing children to get up close and personal with rainforest animals from around the world.

📚 Developed and distributed 6,000 STEAM and Financial Literacy Kits to Washington County families at no cost to the families to support kindergarten readiness. The aim of the initiative is to distribute 24,000 STEAM and Financial Literacy Kits to Washington County families by 2025 to support kindergarten readiness.

👩‍👧‍👦 Developed and distributed 1,000 STEAM activities to Bester Community of Hope families in 2020-2021.

With the generous support of people like you, we will continue to provide this much-needed and worthwhile community asset. With more than 80% of our annual operating budget dedicated to exhibits and programming, you can rest assured that your donation will be used to help support our vision to be the premier children’s museum in the tristate area.

Please consider making a tax-deductible to Discovery Station so that we can continue to do the valuable work that we do at our nonprofit children's museum! now!

05/10/2021

Wonderful story about the Axolotl Guardian, how protecting axolotls helped him to overcome his own struggles, and how he is helping the axolotls overcome their own.

*content disclaimer- mentions drug and alcohol addiction *

In Xochimilco, Mexico, Manuel Rodriguez is on a mission to save the country’s native and endangered axolotl, a small amphibious animal that can regenerate it...

17/09/2021

*update- I spotted one! I was able to catch it, but beware, they truly have an impressive and startling jump. If you find one, don't forget to report it here:
https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/26f9dbec58674313b1bec03ddb8b5f0e. *

Normally, we never advocate for killing anything, insects included. This is the exception. The Spotted lanternfly threaten our local wildlife and our crops.

Please squish🥾 or capture immediately and report to MD DNR. 🪰

To report a sighting of Spotted Lanternfly or any egg masses, contact the Maryland Department of Agriculture at (410) 841-5920 or [email protected] as soon as possible. https://mda.maryland.gov/plants-pests/Pages/spotted-lantern-fly.aspx

19/08/2021

20/06/2021

If you live in DC, MD, VA, WV, please read.
There is an unidentified illness killing birds in our area.
Please take down feeders and empty your baths.
There is plenty of food and water for the birds in the wild right now, they will be just fine.
Congregation at feeders/baths spreads illness.

I know this isn't fun, I love seeing the birds at my feeders. But if you want to continue seeing them, take them down for now. 🐦

26/05/2021

Here's a great comparison of our two species of tent caterpillars courtesy of MBP editor Brandon Woo. Forest Tent Caterpillar larvae (left) do not create tents and feature a cool "footprint" pattern that makes them easy to ID. Eastern Tent Caterpillars (right) are easily spotted by their distinctive tents in trees at this time of year. Both are frequently encountered while out foraging and commuting to and from new food sources.

Thumbnail photos of both species at Maryland Biodiversity Project: http://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/viewThumbnails.php?genus=Malacosoma.

23/05/2021

Cool cicada facts from our friends at Discovery Station 🦗
(no, not a cicada. Anyone know where to find a cicada emoji?😊)

Wondering if you've spotted an albino ? You haven't. When many types of cicadas first emerge from their nymphal skin they are white in color. Gradually, their bodies become a darker color. Some take longer than others to change. Some die before the change can occur, and their corpses remain white.

22/04/2021

🌎Every day is Earth Day 🌍

"I can hear the whole world
singing together
I can hear the whole world
say 'it's now or never'
Cause it's not too late
If we change our ways
And connect the dots to our problems
I can hear the whole world singing together"

Share the wonder of the extraordinary place we call home. From exotic jungles to the deepest seas, open your eyes to the connections we all share. Narrated b...

17/04/2021

Wishing the happiest of birthdays to our friend Brittany Wedd . Wonderfully Wild is forever grateful for Brittany's support, guidance, encouragement, enthusiasm, and the opportunity to bring kids and wildlife together at the Discovery Station❤

We would like to wish our Executive Director, Brittany Wedd, a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY! 🥳 Without her passion, perseverance, and drive, we would not be able to serve the families of our community as we do! We love you, Brittany!

17/04/2021

Please remember- animals are NOT art projects.

That shell is not a canvas. It's their protection, their camouflage, it keeps them safe, it helps them find mates, it is VITAL for their health and survival ( soaks up heat from the sun, helps with metabolism etc.).

Not to mention each and every box turtle shell is completely unique, a work of art from Mother Nature herself🐢

Admire, appreciate, and protect our wildlife❤

This is NOT cute—this Eastern Box Turtle was painted by elementary school children in the far western part of Virginia and was transferred to us today from another rehabber for long term care. We know that the kids did not intend to harm the turtle and were merely having fun, but this is why environmental education is so important from an early age to teach respect of living things. This action may have seemed innocent to the kids (and maybe even some adults) but it is very harmful for the turtle. The amount of paint will now prevent this turtle from being returned to the wild until the paint comes off through mostly natural means, as using solvents on the shell to remove the paint can cause lung problems. Turtles also use their shells to absorb sunlight which helps them metabolically function, which may also cause problems for this turtle’s recovery due to the amount of shell that is covered. Additionally, our subspecies of box turtle here in Virginia is declining rapidly—actions like this harm the survival of an already at-risk species that could be heading towards extinction. We’re glad that somebody stepped in and got the turtle help, but please talk to the young people in your life about how important it is to respect wildlife—imagine a huge alien grabbed you and painted you all over without your permission. Now, imagine you can’t get the paint off, the paint can make you feel very sick, you are now in a hospital probably for a year or more until the paint comes off without anything familiar around, and you can’t go home until then. We don’t want to project our own personal emotions onto wild animals, as we can’t truly know what they think and feel, but this was most likely a very stressful experience for this turtle to go through. We will make him as comfortable as we can and try to expedite the process of removal as safely as possible, but all of this could have been avoided had education and intervention been in place to prevent this from happening in the first place. Swvawildlifecenter.org

13/02/2021

The famed conductor traveled at night, employing deep knowledge of the region's environment and wildlife to communicate, navigate, and survive.

08/02/2021

Our show from today at Discovery Station