Cradle of Forestry in America - Part II - Forest Discovery Center

We headed back into the building after exploring our first trail and decided to watch the movie and tour the exhibits.

Inside the Forest Discovery Center visitors can see our brand-new 26 minute movie, First in Forestry: Carl Schenck and the Biltmore Forest School, explore 15 hands-on exhibits, shop at the Giving Tree Gift Shop, or enjoy lunch at our Cradle Cafe’. Our education wing offers two classrooms and a conference room, a perfect space for hosting meetings and workshops.

The exhibit hall displays forest history through interactive displays, children’s games and much more. You’ll learn first-hand how the Biltmore Forest School came to pass and what life was like for a typical student.
--from Cradle of Forestry website

There were a number of exhibits that told the history of the area.

The Biltmore Forest School was the first forestry school in the United States.

I think this sign is great--there are many wonderful things about forests that we can enjoy.

The number and names of different forestry tools were interesting to see.

There was also an area that included places for kids to climb and explore what a forest looks like.

Signs that encourage you to interact are a great idea and especially when they're quite durable.

Then they further encouraged kids to look around to spot things in the exhibits.

There were also plenty of taxidermy exhibits.

Of course the kids were also encouraged to learn more about trees.

There was even an opportunity to examine a stump.

And since the National Forests are both about preserving and utilizing the land there were exhibits about work that is done in the forest.

This fire fighting helicopter simulator was fun to experience.

Inside you could view what a firefighting expedition looked like while the simulator moved around you.

It was nice to see that they had a lift available for people that couldn't go up the stairs.

This chest of wood pieces was available for kids to play with and build.

Before we headed outside we watched a movie about the forestry school.

You can see the trailer for the movie below.

After this we headed back outside to explore another trail.  You can read about that next time.

~Matt