Take a 360 Degree Look Inside Pokey the Turtle's Tank

Pokey is the local celeb at the Rock Creek Park Nature Center and Planetarium.

ByABC News
July 1, 2016, 4:02 PM
Pokey, an Eastern box turtle, lives at the Rock Creek Park Nature Center and Planetarium in Washington, D.C.. National Park Service staff call him their local celebrity.
Pokey, an Eastern box turtle, lives at the Rock Creek Park Nature Center and Planetarium in Washington, D.C.. National Park Service staff call him their local celebrity.
Janet Weistein/ABC News

— -- For this turtle, life is certainly not slow and steady.

Rock Creek Park Nature Center and Planetarium in Washington, D.C., sees more than 36,000 visitors each year - and National Park Service staff say Pokey, the in-house Eastern box turtle, is the center's local celebrity.

"We have people who come and say they remember meeting Pokey as a kid and are now bringing their kids to meet him," says Emily Linroth, a National Park Service public affairs specialist.

"Pokey is a great ambassador for the park. He shows visitors near and far what kinds of animals live here in the heart of the nation's capital," Linroth adds. "And he loves the attention."

Pokey is now 21 years old.

Check out Pokey's worldview by moving the mouse on the video below!