Jay’s and Webber Wildlife Gallery in the Dark

By ETHAN WALLACE 

CMU Journalism Intern

CLARE – Visitors who walk into the Jay’s and Webber Wildlife and Education Center wildlife gallery will be met with a plethora of animals such as zebras and rams. At the ‘Under The Stars’ event on June 12, visitors walked into the gallery under dimmed and northern lights that lined the walls.

The wildlife gallery is part of the non-profit center that contains over 300 taxidermy animals that were caught by the late Wayne Webber who funded the center. The animals are in realistic environments to provide an immersive learning experience for visitors.

When we do the nighttime tour, it's just a totally different perspective,” Lacey Badlet, wildlife center director, said. “There’s shadows where you wouldn't see shadows, and it almost feels like you're walking through the woods at night.”

She said visitors should come back for the daylight or night time experience if they have not seen both.

This is the second event that has been held “under the stars” and this fundraiser event for the center was sponsored by the River Valley RV Park. Visitors could engage in the s’mores bar, explore the wildlife center in the different lighting and place bids for various outdoor items in the lobby. There was also a grand prize camping package that Haley Schunk won that included a tent, camping chairs, sleeping bags and more.

The event focused on camping and exploring the great outdoors, Badlet said. It also highlighted that the funds raised will go to expanding exhibits and creating some outdoor exhibits.

The camping theme was also seen through the various table set-ups in the gallery. There was an x-ray and inferred demonstration, campfire cooking product demonstration, a backpacking demo and various food samples.

Association to Rescue Kritters (ARK) was at the under the stars event showing Boudica the great horned owl, Zero the barred owl and two flying squirrels.

ARK is a wildlife hospital that takes in over 1,000 animals every year, Jared Wright, ARK assistant director, said. About 5% of the animals that sustain a permanent injury, such as the ones brought to the event are used in learning events.

The wildlife center's focus for July is nature at night; every Thursday for that month, they will hold a Northern Lights tour for visitors to experience the gallery at night. Badlet said that the center plans to hold a variety of events related to the theme, such as campfire stories and exploring nature at night.

They are located at 3891 East Surrey Road Clare, MI. More information about their events can be found on their website.