Less than five years after The Wild Center in Tupper Lake welcomed its first 500,000 visitors, on July 18th, 2017 just after 12:30 pm it celebrated eight-year old Andrew Chrien of South Carolina as the one-millionth person to walk through the Center’s doors.

Andrew, accompanied by his siblings Tyler, 6, Laura 4, and Mattie, 2, as well as his mother, Colleen Chrien, and grandparents, Charlie and Laurie Wall, was visiting The Wild Center for the first time. Upon finding out they were the millionth visitor, Andrew experienced a flash mob by staff of the Waggle Dance, a figure-eight dance usually done by honey bees, and received a celebratory gift basket, including a two-year family membership which equates to just over 1,000,000 minutes of Wild Center experiences. Andrew and everyone else visiting also received honey sticks and seed packets in honor of the Wild Center’s Summer of Pollinators and partnership with the Adirondack Pollinator Project. The celebration wrapped up with cake for all.

A recent study reported that visitors to The Wild Center and Center operations generated $27 million in total regional revenue and directly supported an additional 386 jobs in the region during 2016.

The Wild Center is located at 45 Museum Drive, Tupper Lake. For more information, contact The Wild Center at (518) 359-7800 or visit their website.

Photo: Ollie the Otter celebrates the millionth visitor Andrew Chrien, with Leah Valerio – Curator, Colleen Chrien, Charlie Wall and Stephanie Ratcliffe – Executive Director, courtesy The Wild Center.