Where to Wednesday: Nimbus Fish Hatchery
Did you know…. that for over a month after they hatch, salmon are still attached to their yolk sacs and don’t leave their gravel nest? It is not until their nutrient-filled sacs are completely absorbed that they start their journey from river to ocean. There is a lot to learn at the Rancho Cordova Nimbus Fish Hatchery. Here, actually two hatcheries next to each other, you can view both salmon and steelhead trout as they go through their life cycles. More details of the hatchery are available at a dedicated post. Below is a description of our own experience there.
Last Wednesday our journey to the fish hatchery began at the raceway ponds. Near the entrance to the ponds is the fish food dispenser. A nickel will buy you a large handful of food pellets. My friend had the foresight to bring a paper bag large enough for several handfuls, so that you don’t have to return to the food dispenser (and wait in line) repeatedly. There are several long cement ponds holding juvenile steelhead trout. Initially they look quite peaceful, all swimming together fin to fin. Then, after throwing even a few pellets into the stream of fish, you see a mass flurry of mouths and tails as any fish in the vacinity attempts to snatch the tiny pellet. Within seconds the flurry disappears and the fish continue their peaceful journey. I couldn’t resist stealing a few handfuls from the kids’ bag o’pellets to throw into the ponds myself, it was so much fun to watch.
Once we exhausted our food supply, we wandered over to the visitor’s center. In front of the entrance to the visitor’s center is a gorgeous artistic wall made from rocks over which a small stream of water flowed. One thing I really appreciated about this place was that many things were done in a way to be both very artisitic and inviting for kids to touch, climb on, or even just to look at. Exhibits within the visitor’s center were much the same. Large displays had audio buttons to allow non-readers to hear the information, making it accessible for kids of all ages. Some exhibits are even large enough for toddlers to crawl through. After exploring the visitor’s center, we found outside a giant fish sculpture made for climbing. Again, the fish and the nearby benches were artfully done and irrisitable for our group of little climbers.
I didn’t expect my kids to be old enough to pick up much about life-cycles of fish, but I also didn’t expect that they would be so thrilled and entertained at a fish hatchery to close the place down. If you have one in your area it is a worthwhile place to check out.
Where to Wednesdays is a weekly feature to highlight local activities. If you have a local trip you’d like to share, contact me at lora@trippingwithkids.com Photo credit: http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ncs/photos.html and http://www.dfg.ca.gov/fish/Hatcheries/Nimbus/Facility.asp
