USA TODAY names Cook Museum to list of top museums opening this year

USA TODAY has named the new Cook Museum in Decatur to its list of top museums in the world opening this year. The museum will open June 7.

The new Cook Museum will feature:

• An immersive cave experience
• Live animals, including: baby alligators, turtles, snakes, insects, jellyfish, fresh and saltwater fish, and more
• 15,000-gallon saltwater aquarium 
• Forests exhibit gallery with a tree visitors can climb up through the inside of and a rope bridge you can cross to a squirrel's nest high up in a tree.
• Hands-on interactive activities including a kinetic sand table, a digital seashell generator, and a meteorite from outer space.

From the article “History, art and dogs get their due at museums opening this year” in USA TODAY:

The Cook Museum of Natural Science, Decatur, Alabama A half-century ago, an Alabama pest-control firm welcomed the public to see the bug collection it used to train employees. Over the decades, it has evolved to become a top attraction in this small town near Huntsville and is about to move into a new $17 million home. “It's a cool origin story,” LaBriola says.

The four-level museum will include aquariums and terrariums, mounted wildlife and live insects. www.cookmuseum.org.