north american bear center

A must visit when you're in Ely! I learned so many misconceptions about the black bear. They are a beautiful creature and deserve much more respect! Hope you can meet Dr. Lynn Rogers who pops in the center once and a while, such a great man!

My husband and two kids (ages 9 and 11) learned a lot about the different species of bears. We got to watch them feed the bears and a worker narrated about the features of the bears living there.

Although we live quite a long trip away from the the center we came back a year after our first tripbecause there was a new bear to watch there and to repeat the fun of our first visit. A very educational place to spend time and learn about wildlife of the area. Volunteers and staff are enthusiastic and their love shows for what they do. We are elderly and cannot take part in a lot of the hikes and other activities offered or we would be there for those! My only problems were that we had to leave to eat and that the outdoor viewing area has a lot of stairs.

The best part is watching the bears all year round than seeing them in actual settings of daily life when visiting the bear center.The extensive learning in the center the amazing displays is heart warming wealth of information for any age.

Great Education centre not a theme park. Enjoyable afternoon. Interesting displays and keen volunteers. I really enjoyed the Bears' individual personalities.

This place is packed with stuff about bears. Exhibits, viewing windows, and lots of photography. They have an on-line discussion forum, and web cams so you can see what the bears are doing. The building, itself, is extremely well-designed and you have the option of viewing the resident bears from indoors or out. It's definitely worth your time.

This is a great destination for anyone truly seeking to learn more about bear biology and ethology. The bears who live at the center are fascinating to watch, and the education center is a wealth of information. There isn't too much in the way of the kind of interactive displays kids would like, but new displays and exhibits are current being constructed in their new exhibit hall. Worth a visit to learn new things and support wildlife research.

I would recommend this place to anyone interested in learning about bears. It's very informative and interesting. Although this time of year the bears aren't very active it's still fun to go see

The North American Bear Center had interesting and educational displays. It also provided an opportunity to observe bears in a habitat much like a good zoo. The lady feeding the bears gave an interesting talk while my wife took many pictures. It was a good stop.

Two hours is not enough time to visit. I would suggest 4-6 hours, as the videos and viewing of the Bears is necessary to get everything the center offers. You will be able to watch video of an actual female bears den with her cubs. You will learn about all bears black, brown & grizzly Bears. We were able to watch the bears at meal time and one relaxing in a tree. They also offer for sale photography by Lynn Rogers. Great for families, couples or anyone while visiting Ely.

The three bears who appeared at feeding time was a nice distraction however for me the best part of this place was the exhibits inside which were fascinating. There is a wealth of information here and a video presentation which alone makes the visit worthwhile.This is a not for profit organisation so all entrance fees are plowed back into the center.Well worth a visit.

The North American Bear Center is a fantastic place to learn more about different types of bears. Lynn Rogers, Ph.D. began scientific research four decades ago. I first met him when I was a child - he had/was researching Gloria - she was a crippled black bear. Gloria would visit Toni's cabin and at times bring her cubs. Numerous times throughout my early childhood visits, we would see Gloria and her cubs.

I've been going to Ely annually for years and am not a big fan of museums. I did enjoy my stop here and appreciated what they have put together. The bears they have on the property appear well cared for and were otherwise considered un-releasable to the wild. in other words they are not exploiting bears that would otherwise survive in the wild. They are keeping them comfortable and using them to educate. The museum displays are full of short videos, each with the running time clearly displayed. The film in the theater was very engaging and professionally done.

We liked everything about NABC. These folks are right on track with Black Bear education for everyone from the youngest child to the oldest adult.

We saw the bear "enrichment", which is another word for feeding. Since we live in an area with bears, seeing three bears was not that thrilling. Much better was inside where there were great displays augmented by video. There, I really did learn a great deal and that's the bottom line for a museum/nature center.But, don't expect an earth shattering experience and don't expect to spend much more than an hour there.