On 30 March 2023, there was an official opening of a new, interesting attraction on the map of the Horseshoe Bat Land: the Małopolskie Centre for Ecological Education in Ciężkowice. It is a modern building equipped with very interesting natural and educational exhibitions, including one dedicated to bats. Visitors to this place can learn more about the Lesser Horseshoe Bat as well as other bat species. There is a „Bat Cave“, scale model (plan relief) of the Lesser Horseshoe Bat’s flight between the cave and the church, state-of-the-art multimedia to compare the heartbeat of a human, a bat in flight, a bat during hibernation and much more. In addition to these, there are other natural history exhibitions that are well worth seeing.
For many years we have been cooperating with the Krystyna and Włodzimierz Tomek Museum of Natural History. As part of this cooperation, many promotional activities have been carried out, e.g. training for guides, the Bat Trail in the Petrified City was created, and tourists visiting the region can purchase bat souvenirs: Ciężkowicki Gingerbread with an image of a horseshoe bat and a felt horseshoe bat.
We will continue our cooperation with the Małopolskie Centre for Ecological Education. See the Skamieniałe Miasto reserve and visit the MCEE in Ciężkowice (www.mcee.pl).
Wojciech Sanek, first director of the Centre, presenting cooperation with PTPP „pro Natura“- MCEE conference hall
- Toy horseshoes at the MCEE exhibition
- Mock-up of a Lesser Horseshoe Bat flying between the cave and the church
- Bat cave and exhibition on water
- Compare pulse of bat in flight and during hibernation with human.
- Horseshoe mascot as a Visitor to MCEE
- Information board about bats
- Piotr Firlej and Wojciech Sanek in front of the MCEE
