Springfield's Wonders of Wildlife Aquarium earns 6th year of honors from USA Today readers

For the sixth time, USA Today readers have voted to honor Springfield's Wonders of Wildlife Aquarium. The non-profit announced Friday morning that they have once again been named the best aquarium in the United States.

When Wonders of Wildlife opened in 2017, it was named "America's Best New Attraction" by 10Best. A panel of travel experts nominated the aquarium as part of USA Today’s annual Reader’s Choice Awards, and then members of the public voted on a winner. WOW previously earned the best aquarium designation in 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Bob Ziehmer, senior director of conservation for Bass Pro Shops, called WOW "the largest and most important natural history museum to open in America in the last 100 years."

More:Springfield's Wonders of Wildlife aquarium voted nation's best again

The aquarium features more than 35,000 animals in a 350,000 square-foot complex, and is still growing, according to Ziehmer, with a 7,000 gallon tank for jellyfish set to debut this spring. Since opening, WOW has hosted more than five million guests. The aquarium also provides distance and in-person learning activities "to inspire and create our next generation of outdoor leaders."

Springfield Mayor Ken McClure lauded the organization for its impact on the city's economy, tourism and conservation.

"We take nothing for granted. We take these awards not for granted — we know they're richly deserved, but we also know in order to keep them and maintain them, it's a continued effort to make (WOW) better, more instructive, more informative. And you do that," McClure said.

Susan Szuch is the health and public policy reporter for the Springfield News-Leader. Follow her on Twitter @szuchsm. Story idea? Email her at sszuch@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Springfield's Wonders of Wildlife named best in US for 5th time