FREEPORT — Since the E.O. Wilson Biophilia Center opened to the general public in 2011, it has been overwhelmed with tourists and visitors.
View a photo gallery of the center. >>
Last month, the center declined to renew a $119,500 grant from the Walton County Tourist Development Council that required it to be open a specific number of days for the public.
M.C. Davis, the center’s founder, said the decision was made to give the center time to revamp so it can handle larger crowds.
“We were just sort of a victim of our success,” he said. “We’re interactive, so some days we’re getting hundreds of people and it requires a tremendous amount of staff.”
The contract required the center to be open one day a week during the fall, winter and spring, and three days a week in the summer.
The center charges $5 for admission.
Once its current TDC contract expires at the end of May, the center will continue to be open to the public, but the hours and days have not been determined, Davis said.
The nonprofit Biophilia Center is located on the 49,000-acre Nokuse Plantation in a longleaf pine ecosystem near Freeport. It serves as an environmental research center and educational facility for students and teachers in addition to hosting the general public.
Davis said he plans to open several new exhibits in the coming months that can handle larger crowds and are designed for tourists.
The first of them, the World of Wonder (W.O.W.), will be unveiled April 20 at the center’s Earth Day celebration.
The 6-foot, 4-D interactive sphere takes participants virtually into outer space and shows the world from that perspective.
The new exhibits will require one staff member for about 30 visitors, versus one staffer per 15 visitors required for interactive animal-handling exhibits the Biophilia Center now has.
Davis said he also plans to move a cracker-era house onto the property and fill it with period antiques and artifacts.
A zip line also is in the works.
Davis said he is considering being open longer hours than required by the TDC contract for possibly fewer days.
“I’m trying to make it where it would really be a draw and you’d be proud to tell somebody you can come out and bring your family and spend the whole day while at the same time not having to have as many employees per visitor,” Davis said. “I’m not ready to commit, but we’ll evolve into that. We’re going as fast as we can.”
In the letter to the Walton County commissioners and the TDC dated March 14, Christy Scally, director of the Biophilia Center, thanked officials for their support.
“Your willingness to renew the present agreement between the Tourist Development Council and the center is greatly appreciated, however, in view of budget restraints and increased demands, we must respectfully decline,” the letter said.
To learn more about the Biophilia Center, visit their website.
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Lauren Sage Reinlie at 850-315-4443 or lreinlie@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @LaurenRnwfdn.