A Special Season
A Natural Way To Celebrate a 60th Anniversary
For half a century, the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center in Holderness has been promoting an understanding of New Hampshire’s flora and fauna through live animal exhibits, ecology programs, and other events that teach about the importance of the natural world. Now celebrating its 60th year, the science center is planning special events to mark the occasion.
Local residents simply call it “the science center” but the full name reflects its setting by the Squam Lakes — Little Squam, at 410 acres, and Big Squam, at 6,381. The Squam Lakes Natural Science Center is situated on more than 200 acres of fields, forests, streams, ponds, and gardens, and it is much more than a traditional zoo.
At the heart of the operation is the Live Animal Exhibit Trail, a self-guided three-quarter-mile packed-gravel path that goes past black bears, bobcats, mountain lions, river otters, and raptors. There are hands-on exhibits documenting animal habitats and adaptations, and the state’s changing landscape.
The Live Animal Exhibit Trail is stroller-accessible with an ADA Recreational standard grade of 1 in 12, with difficult spots due to loose gravel. The science center offers four-wheeled motorized scooters upon request, and it is a Certified Sensory Inclusive facility by KultureCity to improve its ability to assist and accommodate guests with sensory needs.