The EcoTarium is Worcester's natural-history-and-science museum, set on a 60-acre wooded campus on the east side of the city. Inside there are interactive exhibits on weather, the local watershed, and the wildlife of New England, plus a planetarium with a daily schedule of star shows. Outside, walking trails wind through the woods past enclosures with native species — bobcats, owls, otters, foxes — animals that for various reasons cannot be released back to the wild.
It is squarely aimed at children, but the trails and the surrounding woods make it a pleasant stop for adults too, especially in autumn when the leaves turn. A narrow-gauge train runs through the property on weekends in season. Closed Mondays.