Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary Opens New Spurlino Foundation Discovery Center

One thing thrilling has been brewing at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary: The brand new Spurlino Basis Discovery Middle, which opened on February 4, 2026, immerses college students and guests of all ages in swampy goodness. With displays like “The Secret Lives of Crops,” “Life Beneath the Floor,” and “Amphibians and Reptiles,” the brand new area shines a highlight on the Sanctuary’s work and crops and animals like by no means earlier than.

“We’re deeply grateful for the Spurlino Basis’s assist,” stated Sanctuary Director Keith Laakkonen. “This funding has modernized and enhanced the customer expertise within the Discovery Middle, enabling every particular person to see how essential the Sanctuary is for water and wildlife within the panorama of Southwest Florida, earlier than or after they expertise it for themselves on the boardwalk.”

The Blair Customer Middle at Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary welcomes 80,000+ annual guests to this outstanding 13,000-acre wildlife sanctuary – a gateway to the Western Everglades. Due to a beneficiant present from the Spurlino Basis, Audubon has renovated the unique 1,600 square-foot discovery heart area with new displays that illustrate the historical past and ecology of the Sanctuary whereas inspiring a conservation ethos in all guests.

The area, which had been closed since 2020, was utterly revamped with eye-pleasing indicators, vivid colours, video, and fascinating actions that improve studying. For practically three years, Audubon workers labored with the Michigan-based design agency Flutter & Wow, in addition to native taxidermists and wildlife sculptors, to design displays that immerse guests within the swamp’s cultural and pure historical past. With mounted artifacts to the touch and hen calls and different sounds to listen to, and an opportunity for youths to decorate up like a prescribed hearth skilled, this multi-sensory studying expertise is the right complement to a stroll alongside the famend 2.25-mile boardwalk.

Learn more about the new exhibits.

Guests can discover the brand new Spurlino Basis Discovery Middle with normal admission to the Blair Customer Middle and boardwalk, which stays $17 for adults, $6 for youths 6 to 14, and free for members and kids underneath 6. The Sanctuary is open every day at 8 a.m. with the final admission at 3 p.m. through the winter/spring season. On-line tickets are really useful at audubon.org/corkscrew/go to.

The opening of the Spurlino Basis Discovery Middle marks the completion of the primary part of building for a visionary Capital Marketing campaign campus transformation. This part included different customer expertise enhancements, reminiscent of new navigational signage for the parking zone, a brand new campus entrance, and 95 new wayfinding, interpretive, and academic indicators alongside the boardwalk. 

Learn more about the campus refresh.