Kansas Wetlands Education Center in Great Bend, Kan.

Grand opening to be held in conjunction with
Wings & Wetlands Birding Festival

April 2, 2009, Topeka, Kan. … Visitors from all over the country will soon be flocking to Great Bend, Kan. April 24 – 26, 2009 marks the celebration of the grand opening of the Kansas Wetlands Education Center to be held in conjunction with Great Bend’s biennial Wings & Wetlands Birding Festival.

The Education Center is located at the Cheyenne Bottoms Wetlands Area, the l! argest interior marsh in the United States. The Center will be the first stop for Cheyenne Bottoms’ visitors, and offers an auditorium, exhibit hall, classroom, biologists’ suite and gift shop. Interpretive displays throughout the Center educate visitors about the critical value of the Cheyenne Bottoms Wetlands Area. Notable Kansas citizens from across the state are slated to participate in the grand opening ceremony.

To round out the celebratory weekend, visitors to the new Education Center will also have the chance to experience Great Bend’s biennial Wings & Wetlands Birding Festival. This three-day festival is dedicated to bird-watching and the appreciation of the natural world at two of the hottest birding sites in the world; Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area and Quivira National Wildlife Refuge.

More than 250 bird-watching attendees representing approximately 20 states are expected to gather in Great Bend for the festival. A variety of seminars, demonstrations, field trips and bird-calling contests will highlight the weekend’s activities.