International Owl Center
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  • Home
  • Programs and Events
    • Raise the Roost Fundraising Party
    • International Owl Awareness Day
    • Owl Prowls
    • Special programs
    • Virtual Owl Expert Speaker Series
    • Virtual Programs
    • Festival of Owls
    • School and Group Programs
    • Ukrainian Art for Ukrainian Kids
  • DIY Activities
    • Owl Crafts
    • Cat Toys
    • Dissect Owl Pellets
    • Build a Nest Box
    • Coloring Pages
    • Puzzles
  • Future Plans
  • Our Research
    • Research Basics
    • Live Cam
    • Hear Individual Owls
    • Types of Great Horned Owl Vocalizations
    • Great Horned Owl Growth Chart
    • Background Info >
      • History of Rusty and Iris
      • What happened to Rusty and Iris's young?
      • Owl Glossary
      • Great Horned Owl Facts
    • Blog
  • I found an injured owl!
    • What do I do?
    • Find a Rehabber
  • Owls and You
    • Joggers and Owls
    • Live an Owl-Friendly Life
    • Respectful Owl Photography and Observation
    • Owls as Pets
    • Owls Attacking Pets
    • Owl Myths and FAQ
  • Visit Us / About Us
    • Visit
    • Our Owls
    • Staff and Board
    • History
  • Support Us
    • Memberships
    • Donate
    • Founder's Circle
    • Other Ways to Help
  • Educator Resources
    • Education Methods
    • Assessing Impact
    • Regulations
    • Workshop Summary
    • Resources
    • Links
  • Owl Conferences
    • Future Conferences
    • Past Conferences
    • Conference Planning
    • E-Newsletter
  • Kids' Art Contest
  • Store
International Owl Center

Our Future...setting a new gold standard for owl aviaries in the U.S.

I'd like to donate to help build the new center!
Check out this 7.5 minute video about the plans for the new Owl Center facility below.
Click here to watch a 1-hour webinar about the new facility.
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​We currently operate out of an historic storefront in "downtown" Houston, Minnesota. It's a great way to get started, but we need much more as we continue to grow. Our goal is to build our own facility that meets all of our needs on the north side of Houston, adjacent to and in Trailhead Park. We acquired six properties between 2013 - 2024 for our building site, each when the owner was ready to sell.
Top-down diagram of the current current buildings on the future site.
Our main building will feature children's owl art from around the world, biological and cultural displays, two program rooms, a prep room for food and specimens, and of course a well-stocked gift shop. 

The ambassador owls will be able to live on-site (they all currently live off-site and commute to work each day). They will live in aviaries off view from the public, but immediately adjacent to the program rooms, with natural vegetation to attract critters for them to watch. Staff will bring them into the program rooms as needed for presentations, and they will be used for off-site programs.

Four species of owls that are not adapted to our local climate will live free in large two-part aviaries attached to the main building. These aviaries will have a portion exposed to the weather and a second portion that is climate controlled so the owls can choose if they want ambient or controlled temperatures, depending on their own personal preferences. The public will be able to view them when they are in either portion of their aviaries.

​The crown jewel of the new facility will be six walk-through aviaries in the park will allow visitors to view owls adapted to our local climate in naturally vegetated enclosures with nothing between them and the owls. These spaces are designed using owls' natural instincts so the owls will choose to stay in the main portion of their aviaries rather than use physical barriers to separate them from visitors. Visitors will literally walk through the side of the enclosures. This design was pioneered in Germany by Wolfgang Scherzinger in the 1980s and has been adapted by several zoos in Europe since then. Our facility will be the first in the United States to adapt the walk-through aviary concept for owls, and Dr. Scherzinger is consulting with us on the design.

We plan to offer special after-dark programs so people can experience the owls when they wake up and start hooting, tooting and trilling.

In 2022 the Board of Directors hired Wieser Brothers General Contractors to do this project as design-build. With our input, Wieser Brothers engaged DSGW to do the architectural design. The concept planning is now complete and we in the midst of a capital campaign. The total project cost is estimated to be $17.3 million. Scroll to the bottom of the page for more information, including naming opportunities.
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Download more detailed information by clicking on the images below.

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Capital campaign brochure
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Naming opportunities
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Board and committee bios
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Commitment/pledge form 
​(mail-in)

Naming opportunities are available! See the amounts in red below.

A floor plan of the future Owl Center with rooms labeled with various costs - Several rooms are sponsored: the calming room, main I.T. room, Kids' room, prep room, director's office and a two-part aviary. One program bird aviary is listed as tentative.
A floor plan of the future Owl Center's outdoor aviaries with locations labeled with various costs
Building exterior: $7.5M
Large program room: $1M
Small program room, interpretive display area and enclosed walkway: $500K each
Walk-through aviaries: $350K each
Two-part display aviaries (1/4 sponsored!): $250K each
Staff office area, conference room, program bird aviaries (1/8 tentatively sponsored!): $100K each
Calming room (sponsored!), IT (sponsored!), Kids' room (sponsored!), Prep room (sponsored!), Evening room: $50K each
Director's office (sponsored!): $25K
I'd like to donate online to help build the new center!
Click here to email Executive Director Karla Bloem for more information.

International Owl Center
126 E Cedar St.
Houston, MN 55943

(507) 896-OWLS (6957)
[email protected]
​
501(c)(3) organization
​EIN #45-5503365
Donate
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The International Festival of Owls logo.
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