Johnny Morris' Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium in Springfield, MO

Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium consists of an all-new 1.5-million-gallon aquarium adventure showcasing 35,000 live fish, mammals, reptiles, and birds, as well as immersive wildlife galleries that bring visitors eye-to-eye with the greatest collection of record-setting game animals ever assembled. Located 45 minutes from Branson and adjacent to Bass Pro Shops National Headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, the 350,000-square-foot experience celebrates people who hunt, fish, and act as stewards of the land and water. Explore over 1.5 miles of immersive galleries that take you into the natural habitats of the animal kingdom. Get up close and personal with big game and other mammals in the Wildlife Galleries, and dive into the ocean world in the Aquarium Adventure.

Aquarium Adventure
Introducing a new aquarium that plunges guests into a thrilling tour of the world’s underwater habitats with more than 35,000 animals. Visitors will encounter over 800 species of sharks, rays, jellyfish, eels, sports fish, and more as they are transported to some of the wildest aquatic habitats on earth.

Set sail on a voyage spanning the world’s oceans, lakes, and streams and come face-to-face with sharks, rays, jellyfish, eels, eagles, and otters, plus giant game fish from around the world that belong on every angler’s bucket list.

300,000 gallons of adventure! The breathtaking Great Oceans Hall brings the depths of the ocean to the middle of America. After admiring historic fishing boats that belonged to Ernest Hemingway and Zane Grey, step inside a 300,000-gallon circular “open ocean” habitat teeming with life, including zebra sharks, leopard rays, and sea turtles.

Learn by taking a look inside! Peek inside pop-up bubbles and come eye-to-eye with fish inside their habitats like piranhas, neon tetras, and more.

Wildlife Galleries
Go eye-to-eye with exotic wildlife! Stand in awe observing nature's most striking exotic animal habitats, like leopards perched high above ground observing their prey, muskox fighting off a pack of wolves beneath the northern lights, and wildebeests battling with crocodiles at the watering hole.

Get closer than ever before with the world’s largest collection of record-setting big game animals like deer, elk, bear, bison, caribou, moose, muskox, antelope, sheep, and more, set amongst dioramas that transport you to the native environments of the species.

Each habitat features painstaking attention to detail, including massive hand-painted murals, native foliage, and special effects that deliver the chill of the Arctic, the cold winds of the Alps, the dry sun of the African Savannah, and more.

Special Exhibits: Wonders of Wildlife offers a variety of temporary exhibits drawing from both the museum’s own archives and collections from leading institutions around the world. Check back often to see what’s new!

Year of the Bird
Wonders of Wildlife is honored to host the exhibit, "Year of the Bird," in partnership with the National Audubon Society and Ducks Unlimited. Take flight in this exhibit as you learn of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act passed by Congress years ago to protect birds from meaningless killing. It is the most powerful and important bird protection law ever passed. In honor of the act’s centennial, nature lovers around the world joined forces to make 2018 the “Year of the Bird,” committing to protect birds today and for the next 100 years. This exhibit is located in the Wildlife Galleries.

Nature’s Best Photography
Thanks in part to a generous donation from FedEx and its founder, Fred Smith, a new exhibition hall will be home to the Windland Smith Rice International Awards and its annual Nature’s Best Photography exhibition, previously only displayed at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

Created to recognize and display the creative talents and documentary achievements of nature photographers at all levels worldwide. The exhibition will feature a rotating gallery of jaw-dropping wildlife photography and video from around the world as a celebration of both people and nature. Named in memory of Windland Smith Rice, an accomplished wildlife photographer, conservation advocate, and the late daughter of FedEx CEO Fred Smith, the annual awards and exhibition have become one of the most prestigious and recognized photo competitions in the world.

The new 10,000-square-foot gallery space will link the aquarium lobby with the main entrance to the Wildlife Galleries.