Tours for Individuals and Small Groups
Each weekend, MARS provides family-friendly tours on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The one-hour outdoor & indoor tours are scheduled from 10:00 to 2:00 for groups of up to 8 people per tour. The Visitor Centre closes at 3 pm.
Our tours are suitable for all ages! Our guides love engaging children, youth, adults, and seniors in learning about wildlife and wild spaces. MARS is a family-friendly place. All are welcomed.
MARS has much to show you. Please pre-book your tour, and help MARS help wildlife, one patient at a time.
Admission by donation.
Planning Your Tour
Plan to be at MARS for 1½ hours. The outdoor portion of the tour is about 45 minutes, then a 10-minute visit with an ambassador bird and handler, then as long as you wish to explore the gift shop and indoor exhibits hall.
Our volunteer guide will greet you at the Visitor Centre to check you in. You’ll hear the stories of our animal patients and the skilled, compassionate care they receive at our hospital. You’ll view recovering Bald Eagles in their impressive two-story flight pen, visit our non-releasable ambassador owls, eagles, and albino crows, and meet one of our birds up-close with a handler.
You are welcome to take pictures throughout your tour. Please share your photos and story on Google Reviews, Facebook, Instagram, or TripAdvisor.
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Tours for Classes or Large Groups
Our guides will lead your group on an indoor and outdoor experience through the Visitor Centre. Group ratio: one MARS guide with 8 students and one or two adults. Please give us three weeks notice when possible so we can arrange extra guides and a bird handler for your visit.
- To learn about human impacts on wildlife and wild places
- To understand animal adaptations and how species interact in their environment
- To make connections between habitat and healthy populations
- To be inspired by the beauty and diversity of wildlife
- To have fun!
Students will…
- Learn the rescue, recovery, rehabilitation, and release stories of MARS patients, past and present
- Understand the skilled, dedicated work of our rehab staff and volunteers
- Travel through a native plant garden, view the wetland through our bird blind, and see what creatures are making their homes in wild spaces
- Get a bird’s-eye view into our flight pen to see recovering Bald Eagles
- Meet our resident eagles, albino crows, hawk, and owls
- Visit with an Ambassador Bird and bird handler
- Discover exhibits of hawks and hummingbirds, owls and waterfowl, and a few mammals
- Explore our hands-on area with nests, feathers, bones, and other animal artefacts — even read an x-ray!
- Test their knowledge of bird calls and compare their strength to raptors
- Become birders for the day with a scavenger hunt
- For young children: explore a model of our local watershed with domestic and wild species
- Give us plenty of notice — three weeks is ideal — so we can arrange extra guides and a bird handler for your visit
- Any special considerations for your students? Please let us know
- Remind children not to touch our Ambassador Birds, to keep fingers out of outdoor enclosures, and to speak quietly near our resident birds
- Allow an hour and a half for your visit and let us know if you’ll need extra time for lunch or snacks — we have picnic tables outside
- Our Centre is fully wheelchair accessible; outdoor paths are packed gravel and sloped in some areas
- Please wear closed-toed footwear and clothing suitable for the weather
- With the exception of service dogs, dogs are not allowed on the property as they cause stress to recovering and resident wildlife
Virtual Class Tours
Teachers and organizational leaders — are you ready to take your group on a virtual field trip to MARS? Learn about birds and mammals, the obstacles they face, and how they have adapted to survive. Join Warren Warttig, a biologist and our Man from MARS, as he takes you on a trip to the wild side.
Program 1
What a Hoot!
All about Owls — 45 minutes (includes time for questions). Meet a variety of owls that make Vancouver Island their home and what makes them unique. You will be introduced to some of our ambassador birds and learn which ones are nocturnal, crepuscular, or diurnal.
Book Now
Program 2
Chirp, Chirp!
Spring Wildlife — 45 minutes (includes time for questions). Learn why and how baby animals come to MARS. You may have an opportunity to meet some of our avian patients being cared for in our hospital. Some are precocial, many are altricial — what does that really mean?
Book NowBook a Tour
Ready to visit? Select your tour type below to complete a booking request.
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Individual & Small Group Tours
Family-friendly tours run Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm for groups of up to 8 people. Tours last approximately 1½ hours. Admission by donation.
To pre-book your tour, complete the booking form on our Contact Us page.
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Class & Group Tours
Our guided tours for schools and community groups run Friday to Sunday. Please give us three weeks notice so we can arrange extra guides and a bird handler for your group.
Complete the group booking form on our Contact Us page to get started.
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Virtual Class Tours
Bring MARS into your classroom! Choose from two 45-minute programs — What a Hoot! (all about owls) or Chirp, Chirp! (spring wildlife). Both programs include time for questions.
Complete the virtual tour booking form on our Contact Us page to request your program.
Complete Booking Form