Our Future
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.
Our main building site encompasses five properties, and thankfully all owners were willing to sell in their own time. We purchased the fifth and final property in November 2020. The site of our walk-through aviaries is owned by the City of Houston, and we are in the process of finishing agreements with the City to use and eventually purchase that property. (The future property boundary is indicated by the red dotted line in the image above.)
Our main building site encompasses five properties, and thankfully all owners were willing to sell in their own time. We purchased the fifth and final property in November 2020. The site of our walk-through aviaries is owned by the City of Houston, and we are in the process of finishing agreements with the City to use and eventually purchase that property. (The future property boundary is indicated by the red dotted line in the image above.)
Our main building will house a rotating exhibition of children's owl art from around the world, biological and cultural displays, 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 to six species of owls that are not adapted to our local climate will live free in 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.
About 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 will be 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.
We envision offering the opportunity for people to spend select evenings with the owls, after dark, so they can experience the owls when they wake up and start hooting, tooting and trilling.
In 2023 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 initial design concepts are expected to be ready by March 2023.
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 to six species of owls that are not adapted to our local climate will live free in 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.
About 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 will be 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.
We envision offering the opportunity for people to spend select evenings with the owls, after dark, so they can experience the owls when they wake up and start hooting, tooting and trilling.
In 2023 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 initial design concepts are expected to be ready by March 2023.
