Bow Habitat Station/Sam Livingston Fish Hatchery

Incredibly well worth the visit! 2 year old had a great time with interactive visits — can’t wait to go back in the Summer for the trout pond.

My first fish hatchery! (on the same day as my first bird sanctuary)! Although I think they’re trying to make it interesting for children, it’s actually interesting for adults too. You can either pay for the hatchery or the interactive part or both. We only did the hatchery part which costs about five bucks. There are beautiful things to see outside the building too. There’s also a catch-​and-​release pond! They will provide a fishing pole if you don’t have one! I think it’s a great place! There’s a gift shop inside and a little café.

I have not attended the BHS with kids after the complete renovation. However, I can attest to the fundamental awesomness of this place. The Bow Habitat Station is the ‘new’ name for the Sam Livingston Fish Hatchery. Renovations have been completed for about a year. The new SLFH includes a microcosmic ‘working’ illustration of the ENTIRE WETLANDS AS AN ECOLOGICAL NODE AND PROCESS!!! How cool is that? Pretty cool. The SLFH still has the same wonderful exhibits regarding the endogenous fish of this province. The displays of pike, various trout, perch, walleye and the like are fastidiously presented — it is just short of being able to witness the various species in the wild thanks to an invisible cloaking device. So wonderful! These species displays are (for me) alone worth the price of admission. But now, as the Bow Habitat Station, the SLFH also has regularly scheduled tours of the hatchery itself. Finally we can all see the inner workings of this formerly mysterious-​brown-​building just off of ninth avenue. The tour itself is professional and instructive. The myriad steps which combine to ensure that our provinces waterways are ‘balanced and maintained’ vis a vis the continued inclusion of those animals which developed as an expression of it have been laid clear. For me, the tour was delightful and fascinating. I can only imagine how children will respond! I am going to bring a friend back to the tour. It must be shared. Regarding adults, the fish hatchery seems serendipitously meant for the ‘lysergically-​minded’ human, let me tell you…
After LONG renovations, the Sam Livingston Fish Hatchery went from being one of Calgary’s ‘best kept secrets’ to being one of the cities Must-​go-​to-​venues. Please, don’t avoid this place because you are an ‘adult’ — rather, it deserves to be the aim of a planned day out to Inglewood.
Trust me – you will continually go to there. And you will tell others.