Winter Fun at Wonders of Wildlife Aquarium, Dogwood Canyon Nature Park

Come to the Ozarks and see how Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium and Dogwood Canyon Nature Park celebrate the holidays.

Until Dec.  31, holiday lights and special penguin encounters will take place at Wonders of Wildlife Aquarium’s SEAson of Wonder. Visitors can witness Scuba Santa swimming in the aquariums. See the more than 35,000 live animals featured at the park. As a season of giving, the aquarium offers its adopt an animal program for visitors wanting to contribute to the care the aquarium provides to the animals.

© Dogwood Canyon Nature Park & Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium

In addition to visiting the aquarium, visitors can drive an hour to the 10,000-acre Dogwood Canyon to witness Takoda, the park’s rare white American bison. Take a ride on the Wildlife Tram Tour to see even more of the park’s wildlife. This two-hour guided ride takes guests through the canyon and into the ridgetops of Arkansas to spot herds of elk, deer and bison.

Winter sees flocks of migrating Bald Eagles settle in the park, as well, and visitors can keep an eye out for these majestic birds on one of the park’s Eagle Watching Tours. The tours begin in January 2022.

Dec. 18–26, the park hosts its popular Christmas Hunt where families can go on the indoor scavenger hunt to discover the Santa Scoop about Christmas food, traditions, lights and more. The hunt includes matching images on a sheet provided with posters to find the answers to these holiday clues.