Back to T.R.
Centennial Site
Paul Smiths Visitor Interpretive Center
Route 30 – Box 3000
Paul Smiths, NY 12970
(518) 327-3000The Newcomb Visitor Interpretive Center
Route 28N – Box 101
Newcomb, NY 12852
(518) 582-2000The Adirondack Park Visitor Interpretive Center (VIC), located along Route 30 in Paul Smiths, N.Y., highlights Theodore Roosevelt's contributions as a naturalist and collector in a new exhibit "Summer Birds of the Adirondacks." The exhibit describes and illustrates his formative years exploring the woods and waters of Franklin County and meticulously cataloging the birds he found there.
The Barnum Brook Trail's wayside interpretation, "TR's Journal Walk," helps the visitor envision the forest, wetlands and wildlife in the 1870s and share TR's sense of discovery as he walked the very same terrain.
The Adirondack Park VIC, located along Route 28N in the town of Newcomb, 14 miles east of Long Lake, opens a new exhibit outlining the history and future of the Roosevelt Wildlife Station. Created by the New York State Legislature in 1919 and now housed at the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Environmental Science and Forestry, the station is charged to undertake research in forest wildlife management. The station is the only Roosevelt Memorial adapted from plans bearing the ex-president's personal approval.
The center's permanent exhibit, "Living with the Land: History and Future of the Development of an Adirondack Land Ethic, " revisits the birth of the conservation and preservation movements in New York State and the nation and recognizes the formative influence of citizen, Governor and President Theodore Roosevelt in these events.
The Visitor Interpretive Centers are operated by the Adirondack Park Agency, and are open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free.
The SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, the State Department of Environmental Conservation, the Department of State, and the Adirondack Park Agency have joined in partnership to host these Theodore Roosevelt exhibits in recognition of Roosevelt's influence over conservation in both our state and nation.
Visitor Centers Are Resources For Educators:
Looking for exciting, effective environmental activities, programs and curricula for your classroom, youth group, garden club or elder hostel? The Adirondack Park Visitor Interpretive Centers should be your first stop for environmental education resources. Most people are familiar with the Paul Smiths and Newcomb VIC's school visitation programs, but both centers have much, much more to offer educators – from pre-school to classroom teachers, naturalists or scout leaders.
Beaver Theater:
The new Beaver Theater Resources Box toured schools in the North Country for the first time last year. Complete with script, props and puppets to stage The Beaver's Tail, beaver artifacts, a Beaver-For-A-Day game and video on the life of the beaver, the Resource Box helps educators teach natural history topics.
Life in the Woods:
School programs at the VICs are perennial favorites. Be a "beaver for a day," sample aquatic life from Heron Marsh or Sucker Brook, or take a hike with VIC naturalists. Extend that into an overnight in the Newcomb VIC's Life in the Woods program, joining authentic research, Native American storytellers and a day at the Adirondack Museum.