When you find yourself near Springfield, Missouri, a great place to visit is the Wonders of Wildlife Museum & Aquarium. This vacation destination is connected to the Bass Pro Shops National Headquarters next door.
The sprawling facility is split into two main sections— a wildlife gallery with taxidermied animals displayed in their natural habitats and a huge aquarium with over 35,000 fish, reptiles and birds. We visited last summer and easily spent half a day looking through all the exhibits. It opened in 2017 and USA Today readers voted it “America’s Best New Attraction.”
There are so many cool spaces to explore, from a Louisiana swamp at night to a polar expedition with penguins. The Bait Ball Exhibit, Shipwreck Reef, and the illuminated jellyfish are all impressive. They even have a replica of Teddy Roosevelt’s cabin!
Also included with admission are the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame and the Bass Pro Shops Motorsports Museum. One of our favorite exhibits was the Pilar, Ernest Hemingway’s famous boat.
BONUS: After we left the aquarium, we drove a few miles to Ozark, MO, to have dinner at Lambert’s Café– “Home of Throwed Rolls.” The waiters literally throw dinner rolls across the restaurant to you when you want one- you have to see it to believe it!!
