Smithsonian Institution Conservation & Reserch Ctr

Open to the public only once a year for a fee (2012 – 30 dollars a vehicle first 6 people-​additional people extra fee). The property is beautiful and quite large. From the hilltops you get an amazing view. It was fun to see two red pandas on special exhibit munching on bamboo. There were many tables set up to educate folks about a myriad of topics related to the institute’s work. Another neat thing was seeing the cranes who seemed to enjoy looking at people just as much as we enjoyed them. A visit to the bird house was informative, especially about the plight of birds in Guam due to predation by introduced snakes. I would have given the visit 5 stars except for the lack of transport for handicapped individuals. They had school buses but in order to take them you had to first walk up a hill. Also, many volunteers were very unknowledgeable about the place and couldn’t answer simple questions. Perhaps, an orientation for them would have helped. One volunteer directed us to the panda’s normal enclosure way on the other side of the property when they had been moved to another display area for the visitors. The regular staff that were onsite were very helpful and I felt privileged to have the opportunity to hear about the animals from them.