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Wonders of Wildlife once again tapped as top aquarium 

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For the fifth time since its opening in 2017, Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium has been voted America’s Best Aquarium by readers of USA Today, officials announced at a media event today. 

WOW is connected to Springfield’s flagship Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World. 

Opening in 2017, the aquarium was voted Best New Attraction in its inaugural year, then earned America’s Best Aquarium honors in 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.  

Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies captured the award in 2019, but WOW has held tightly to the distinction since then. 

Jeff Wilhoit, director of marketing for Bass Pro Shops, made the announcement before introducing Springfield Mayor Ken McClure, who offered his congratulations. 

McClure spoke to the impact of Bass Pro and WOW, particularly in the area of economic vitality. The flagship store and museum have driven the Grant Avenue Parkway project, which will connect the attraction to the downtown area with a multimodal thoroughfare. 

Tourism is another area of impact, McClure said, noting the site is variously ranked as the No. 1 or No. 2 attraction in the state of Missouri. 

Conservation was the third area of impact McClure mentioned at the St. Patrick’s Day announcement, which had green as its theme. (St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, is also the 75th birthday of Bass Pro CEO Johnny Morris.) 

McClure congratulated Morris, though the CEO was not in attendance at the celebration. 

“Johnny, we’re proud of you,” McClure said.  

Referring to the awards, he added, “We know they’re richly deserved, but we also know that in order to keep them and maintain them, it’s a continued effort to make it better, more instructive, more informative, and you do that.” 

Bob Ziehmer, senior director of conservation for Bass Pro Shops, said more than 5 million people have visited Wonders of Wildlife since it opened, and it also has springboarded into distance learning through Springfield Public Schools to further its conservation message. 

“It allows the message of what sports men and women have accomplished over the last 100 years to really be spread,” Ziehmer said. 

He added that he does not take WOW’s fifth award lightly. 

“We take that recognition and we know that it highlights strong support for conservation across our country, but also support for our outdoor heritage and the sports that we treasure, fishing and hunting,” he said. 

Nominations for the award come from a panel of experts in zoos, aquariums and travel, and editors narrow the field to a final set of nominees, according to the USA Today 10Best website. Readers then vote on the winners, and are limited to one vote per category, per day. Multiple categories also include the 10 best air shows, car shows, motorsports races, horse racing tracks, rodeos and more. 

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