Channahon center opens indoor exhibit showing forest life at night

Four Rivers Environmental Education Center in Channahon has opened a new display called the Day & Night Exhibition. The exhibit remains open through Sunday, Jan. 3, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. Visitors enter the facility free of charge, as is standard for all Forest Preserve District of Will County visitor centers.

The center has operated as a local educational hub for many years, but this new installation marks a shift toward interactive environmental demonstrations. Staff began working on the project several months ago to prepare the space for the current season. The effort culminated in the creation of custom replicas and interactive components designed to simulate a natural woodland setting.

The installation occupies two separate rooms within the center. One room is designed to look like a forest during the day, featuring bright lighting and an open atmosphere. The second room simulates a nighttime forest, where blackout curtains block outside light. Visitors are encouraged to use flashlights to explore this darker space.

Jerome Gabriel, the facility supervisor, explained that the exhibit helps people notice wildlife that is usually hidden. “People can go out and experience the aesthetics and peacefulness of a forest and the beauty of it, but this will help people see what might be living there,” Gabriel said in a news release from the forest preserve district. The design aims to show how diurnal and nocturnal animals coexist in the same environment.

Each room contains a large replica oak tree. These trees serve as the central point for displaying the different activities of forest life with and without daylight. Gabriel noted that the interactive elements allow visitors to engage directly with the hidden aspects of the ecosystem. “The exhibit gives you the opportunity to actually interact with some of those things you don’t get to see in the forest because they are hiding,” Gabriel said.

Staff members built both replica trees and all additional components themselves. Gabriel stated that the team spent hundreds of hours preparing the exhibit. The center is accredited by the National Inclusion Project, which ensures the space offers accessible experiences for all visitors.

To accommodate visitors of different heights and abilities, every interactive element in the exhibit stands no higher than 44 inches tall. This includes doors, sliding panels, and light buttons. “All the doors that open, the panels that slide, the buttons you push to turn lights on are at 44 inches so everyone can use them,” Gabriel said in the release.