Backwater Marsh Habitat
This is where the land and the water meet but it is not one or the other, it is a wetland. It’s a mothering ecosystem creating and protecting habitats for species in nutrient-rich calm waters. This habitat features species frequently found in a marsh and highlights one of the largest wetlands (240,000 acres) of the Mississippi River watershed, the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge (UMRNWFR). Animals are selected to illustrate the diversity of species that rely on the River’s backwaters, and as a nursery to grow out species for larger aquariums.
Species:
Birds: Wood Duck, Goldeneye,
Fish: Sunfish, Crappie, Walleye, Bass, Gar, Catfish, Sucker
Turtles: Mud Turtles, Musk Turtles, Softshells, Sliders, Map Turtles
Watershed Map
An introduction to the hidden world under our feet, the watershed of a river. A river’s reach is beyond its banks both literally and figuratively in the story of the Mississippi River. The Mississippi ignores human boundaries to stretch out its “hand” to pull in water across 31 states and 2 countries. This area shows that handprint and asks, “what is your watershed?”
DrawAlive
Enjoy this unique interactive drawing game where you select an animal or fish to color using one of our coloring pages or by scanning the QR code with your phone. Once completed, you will scan or submit the image and watch it come to life on screen!