As the weather warms up, so does the frog chorus! Listen for frogs at the wetlands. Learn about the frog life cycle and special frog features, sing frog songs, and go on a frog watching hike.

Nature is always changing all through the year. You might play in the the fall colors, or smell the spring flowers, play in the winter snow or dance in the spring rain. Explore all of the exciting changes in the seasons that are happening right now at the nature center grounds!

This unique, fun activity can only be experienced during the month of March! Listen to Native American legends, tap a tree, and visit the sugarhouse to see how sap is made into delicious maple syrup. The hour ends with a taste of our real maple syrup!

This program meets at Penningroth Barn (6665 Otis Road SE).

40 total participants (includes students, chaperones and teachers) is the maximum for this program

Hibernation, migration, and adaptation are the words of the day as we explore what different creatures do. We’ll play animal games to see how well you can hibernate, and discover what animals do to get ready for winter. Find out who takes a long winter nap and who stays awake to play in the snow. Explore the outdoors in winter!

Creatures big and small leave their tracks and traces in the mud and snow – birds, squirrels, raccoons, opossums, mice and more! Go on a tracking walk, learn about food chains, and make an animal track craft.

Explore the fascinating world of our feathered friends and go bird watching with a naturalist. Take a peek at our collection of bird nests and colorful feathers while you learn about their songs, characteristics and habitats.

Do you know that trees tell stories? Come learn the secrets hidden in apartment house trees. Learn the parts of a tree and discover the great things trees do for us. Search for leaf shapes, feel bark textures, smell a tree, and explore the forest habitats on Nature Center grounds.

Sun, meadows and buzzing bugs create a special experience as you hunt through the tall grass prairie for insects and learn about their characteristics. Explore the homes of butterflies, ants, grasshoppers, bees and more while enjoying the great outdoors at the Nature Center.

Get to know Iowa’s wild animals! Use your senses to discover fun facts about their fur, their tracks, what they like to eat, and how they choose to live. Get moving with interactive animal games. Go for a hike to explore their habitats and enjoy the great outdoors.

Honey is a sweet treat that the bees work all summer to make. You will learn all about it as you observe the community of a beehive firsthand in the Nature Center’s observation hive. Get to know the drone, worker, and queen bee. How do bees find nectar? How do they communicate with each other? Play a buzzing bee game.

Search the wetland to see what kind of critters you can capture with dip nets. Get a first-hand look at life cycles and have fun using magnifiers to help identify the unique ones.

Hike the trails though the prairies of Indian Creek Nature Center to see what kind of insects you can find. Insects will be collected, viewed and returned to nature. A brief tour through the Nature Center and a quick look at the pond will round out this fun adventure.

Get an up close look at the animals that call the Indian Creek Nature Center home. A variety of animals will be shown and touched before heading outside for a short hike on the trails.

Join us for a sensory exploration of the prairie and woodland habitats of Indian Creek Nature Center! Discover the diverse plant and animal life along the trails and amongst the prairie plants. Various activities along the hike will help you understand food chains, life cycles and the interdependence between people, wild plants, animals and the earth.

Experience the wonder of one of our most enchanting pollinators! Learn about the life cycles of a butterfly, as well as the tactics butterflies use to protect themselves, including camouflage, mimicry & behaviors. Get an up-close look at milkweed plants, native flowers and monarch butterflies in the Nature Center’s own butterfly hoop house. Finally, learn about conservation issues and what individuals can do in their own yards to help butterflies. It may even be possible to tag a monarch before it begins the long journey to Mexico.

Discover the vast diversity in the insect world, review insects’ basic characteristics, and explore the essential roles insects fulfill in our environments. Observe adaptations for survival, finding food and pollination. You will have an opportunity to look at our indoor observation honey bee hive (September-mid October) as well as learn about life cycles and metamorphosis. Ample time will be spent outdoors exploring.

Learn about the history of this unique North American heritage activity, and explore the Native American and pioneer history of ‘sugaring.’ You’ll learn about maple syrup as the first agricultural crop harvested in Iowa each year and identification of maple trees. Then, visit the sugar bush (woods where the maple trees grow) and use tools (bit & brace, hammer, spile and collection bag) to tap a maple tree. You’ll also tour the sugarhouse to learn how sap is boiled to create maple syrup, followed by a sample of the maple syrup made right here at Indian Creek Nature Center.

This program meets at Penningroth Barn (6665 Otis Road SE).

40 total participants (includes students, chaperones and teachers) is the maximum for this program

Explore what creates the seasons, the water cycle, and experience the weather challenges migrating animals face during their long journeys. Go on a weather scavenger hunt, and collect data on temperature, cloud cover, cloud type, precipitation, and wind speed.

A teacher-naturalist leads the way as students explore the wetland and participate in a variety of exciting activities, like dip-netting, listening to frog sounds, and more! Watch birds at the wetland, feel furs and pass around a turtle shell before looking for turtles in the water. Wetland characteristics, importance and function will be covered.

The Nature Center is the perfect place for hands-on learning about plants and flowers! Learn about habitat needs of plants, plant, seed and flower anatomy and purpose, and pollinators. Go on a scavenger hunt to find examples of different seed dispersal mechanisms and pollinators. You’ll also learn about how animals use plants and seeds and how plants sometimes use animals.

Strap on snowshoes, and head for the trails! This outdoor snowshoeing experience includes discussion of the history of snowshoes while you explore the trails looking for signs of wildlife. Snowshoes are provided. This program requires 5″ of snow cover. Not enough snow on the ground? Don’t worry! We will go on a guided winter trek through the woods.

Observe honeybees and their activities within the indoor observation hive, including worker bees, the queen and drones. Discussion includes honey bee life cycles, bee adaptations, the value of pollination, the relationship between flowers and bees and beekeeping. You’ll also participate in a pollinator hunt and view an outdoor bee hive.

An outdoor skills experience with hands-on activities that may include: fire building, use of flint and steel, orienteering and/or atlatl, archery, plants to avoid, and marking your trail. Indoor inclement weather plans may include: introduction to compasses, map skills, what to bring on adventures or knot tying. This program is available in the month of April only

Measure the water quality at our wetland by testing the pH, turbidity, smell, color and temperature of the water. Data is recorded and used to predict which aquatic life forms would grow and reproduce in the conditions measured and observed. You will also use nets to complete a macroinvertebrate collection, identify collected species, and use data collected to determine water quality.

Participate in hands-on experiments and explore geologic concepts, geologic timeline, rock cycles, mineral testing, fossil formation and a fossil dig. You will also demonstrate plate tectonics, and examine rock specimens and fossils from the nature center’s collection.

During the winter and colder temperatures, this program will take place indoors

Get ready to explore the Indian Creek Watershed and the problems it faces as a result of human activity. Using a 3-D watershed model you will look at urban and rural pollution sources, erosion and flooding. Conservation techniques will be discussed and viewed as students experiment with a stream table. Tour a rain garden and parking lot bioswale, while also looking at an example of permeable paving. The focus is on what each of us can do individually to improve watershed health.

Communication, working together and patience are important life skills. Get ready to put these skills to the test as you attempt many fun challenges and cooperate to reach common goals. We discuss the importance of clear communication, both verbal and non-verbal. Come dressed and prepared to enjoy the great outdoors in all weather.

Geocaching is a recreational activity that requires creative thinking, patience, and teamwork. The objective is to hunt for and locate a hidden object using GPS coordinates. You will work together and locate hidden objects, while enjoying the natural beauty of the prairie and trails at Indian Creek Nature Center.

Learn about the history of this unique North American heritage activity, and explore the Native American and pioneer history of ‘sugaring.’ You’ll learn about maple syrup as the first agricultural crop harvested in Iowa each year and identification of maple trees. Then, visit the sugar bush (woods where the maple trees grow) and use tools (bit & brace, hammer, spile and collection bag) to tap a maple tree. You’ll also tour the sugarhouse to learn how sap is boiled to create maple syrup, followed by a sample of the maple syrup made right here at Indian Creek Nature Center. This program meets at Penningroth Barn (6665 Otis Road SE) and can be adjusted so we remain on hard surfaces throughout the program (please note this request for us). 40 total people is the maximum for this event.

Birthday parties include:
*One-hour naturalist-led program of choice, options found in link provided
*Use of the birthday party room for up to three hours and other public areas of the nature center during regular business hours
*Special favor for birthday child
*Vanilla ice cream with optional maple syrup topping for all party participants
**Member discount
Package #1 is for 1-10 TOTAL PEOPLE

Birthday parties include:
*One-hour naturalist-led program of choice, options found in link provided
*Use of the birthday party room for up to three hours and other public areas of the nature center during regular business hours
*Special favor for birthday child
*Vanilla ice cream with optional maple syrup topping for all party participants
**Member discount
Package #2 is for 11-15 TOTAL PEOPLE

Birthday parties include:
*One-hour naturalist-led program of choice, options found in link provided
*Use of the birthday party room for up to three hours and other public areas of the nature center during regular business hours
*Special favor for birthday child
*Vanilla ice cream with optional maple syrup topping for all party participants
**Member discount
Package #3 is for 16-20 TOTAL PEOPLE

Birthday parties include:
*One-hour naturalist-led program of choice, options found in link provided
*Use of the birthday party room for up to three hours and other public areas of the nature center during regular business hours
*Special favor for birthday child.
*Vanilla ice cream with optional maple syrup topping for all party participants
**Member discount
Package #4 is for 21-30 TOTAL PEOPLE

Gather at one of our wetlands to witness the sounds and sights of these magical places. Talk with us about accessibility for those with mobility impairments. Season(s) Offered: Spring, Summer, Early Fall (through mid-October).

Get an up-close look at butterflies and other insects. Learn all about these small but mighty critters. You’ll have the chance to visit to our butterfly hoop house. Season(s) Offered: Summer, Early Fall (through September).

What makes reptiles and amphibians similar and different? We’ll tell (and show!) you all about it. Meet some live reptiles and amphibians, too! Season(s) Offered: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter.

Discuss Iowa’s variety of birds. Listen to bird songs and calls. Look at bird feathers and artifacts. Try your hand at bird watching. Season(s) Offered: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter.

Discover and remember the diversity of wildlife in Iowa. See and touch artifacts from a variety of animals – birds, insects, mammals and more – and meet a live animal (optional). Season(s) Offered: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter.