The EcoTarium is a historical museum in Worcester, Massachusetts, with indoor/outdoor interactive exhibits to inspire a passion for science and nature. The EcoTarium offers three floors of interactive exhibits, shows in the Alden Digital Planetarium, daily Science Discovery programs, live animal habitats, hikes through forest and meadow nature trails, an express train ride around the grounds (seasonal), and unlimited play in the expansive outdoor exhibit, Nature Explore®.
The EcoTarium is well rooted in the Worcester community as an organization dedicated to the study of science and nature. The private, non-profit institution was founded in 1825 as the Worcester Lyceum of Natural History and was incorporated in 1884 as the Worcester Natural History Society — EcoTarium's legal identity. A transition from the New England Science Center to the EcoTarium in 1998 refocused the museum in the natural sciences and hands-on exploration and discovery.
Much of the museum's work today continues to reflect the ideologies and practices adopted almost 200 years ago.