Vidalia — Children got a taste of the wild outdoors Saturday at the St. Catherine Creek Wildlife Refuge’s Wild Things Expo.

The event, held at the Vidalia River View RV Park, increased community awareness of the refuge while also raising money to build an educational center at the site.

Children learned about a year in the life of a black bear, shot arrows, played on an inflatable slide and petted exotic animals like an alligator, a hawk, a falcon and snakes.

“It’s a dual-purpose event, really,” said refuge manager Bob Strader. “We’re raising money to build a center for children to come and learn about the refuge. We really don’t have any indoor facilities right now, as far as the refuge goes.”

The black bear station, one of the most popular attractions at the event, took children from spring to winter and described how bears live and eat over a year.

Elizabeth Anders, 13, said she enjoyed the entire station.

“We learned all about how bears live,” she said. “I wasn’t surprised by what they eat. I’m really big into science.”

Anders and her friends also petted the alligator and the snakes.

She said she wasn’t scared at all.

“The gator was bumpy,” she said. “The snake just felt rubbery.”

There was also a bake sale and a food sale at the event, where casseroles, soups and other dishes could be purchased.

There was a 2 p.m. raffle for a Bad Boy Buggie and an auction for other prizes.

“This is to educate children on the refuge and on the outdoors,” Strader said.

While the main goal of the event was to raise money for the educational center, Strader said he is not sure when the actual building will be built.

He said it all depends on how much money is raised and how quickly.

“It all depends on when we get the funds to build it or the matching grant,” he said. “It would either be a matching grant or a 2-to-1 grant, where they would give us $2 for every dollar we raise.”