FRANKFORT, Ky. - The Salato Wildlife Education Center in Frankfort will hold the grand opening of its interactive Bluegrass Prairie Exhibit at 10 a.m. (Eastern time) May 2.

Visitors will enjoy a hands-on learning experience about the efforts of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources to restore and manage prairie habitats and the animals that call them home.

Families and kids can learn how prairie habitats help wildlife survive by imaging they are a quail chick as they make their way through the exhibit.

Visitors can hatch from an oversized quail egg then face several kid-fun obstacles including a giant hawk flying overhead as they try to reunite with the mother quail. Visitors must decide which path to take: the prairie, which provides cover in the form of crawl tunnels; or the open mowed field, featuring a balance beam and a tire obstacle.

Along the way, visitors can experience for themselves the importance of good habitat to wildlife. Visitors finish the trip by reuniting with the missing mother quail, located in an aviary featuring live northern bobwhite quail.

Salato Wildlife Education Center staff worked closely with the department's wildlife division to design the new exhibit. Donors to the exhibit include Jackson Construction of Frankfort, the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Commonwealth Chapter of Quail Forever and the Salt River Chapter of Quail Unlimited. Additional funding came through the sale of the specialty Quail Unlimited license plate.

The Salato Center has a variety of native animals for the public to see, including a black bear, an eagle, bobcats, elk, deer, bison, snakes and fish. The center has numerous indoor exhibits and miles of hiking trails open to the public. Fishing is available at two lakes. While some programs may require a registration fee, general admission to the Salato Center is free.

For more information, call 1-800-858-1549, ext. 4445. Learn more about upcoming events at the Salato Center on the Internet at fw.ky.gov. The Salato Center, operated by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, is located at the department's headquarters at #1 Sportsman's Lane (formerly #1 Game Farm Road), off U.S. 60 in Frankfort, 1.5 miles west of U.S. 127. Hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays. The center is closed Sundays, Mondays and state holidays.