Location and Features
The National Aviary is located at 700 Arch Street on Pittsburgh's Northside, within Allegheny Commons West Park in the Allegheny Center neighborhood.
The National Aviary is open daily except Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, and Christmas. Although some of the birds must be fed in private, almost all feedings (both vegetarian and carnivorous) are scheduled to be viewable by visitors. Since 1999, annual attendance has consistently topped 100,000.
The National Aviary has daily interactive experiences for visitors. Some of these include Penguin Point, a new exhibit featuring 11 African Penguins and unique underwater viewing; Penguin Connection, a private encounter with an African Penguin (for an additional fee); Little Peepers, a program for preschoolers; and the bird-feeding adventure Lories & Friends. These programs are joined by various trainer talks, bird presentations, feedings, and encounters that help to create an immersive experience for visitors.
In the fall of 2010, the National Aviary completed an $18.5 million expansion and renovation project that included the opening of a new café, classrooms, and the Helen M. Schmidt FliteZone Theater. The theater is currently home to "Wings!," an indoor-avian adventure featuring flighted birds and special effects. The Helen M. Schmidt Theater is the first indoor theater in the nation built specifically for bird shows. The aviary also began outdoor shows (weather permitting) from its new Sky Deck, featuring live flight demonstrations of eagles, falcons and kites out over West Park.
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Famous quotes containing the word features:
“Each reader discovers for himself that, with respect to the simpler features of nature, succeeding poets have done little else than copy his similes.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)