The nature center is free to visit! Some activities require a small fee.
Family-friendly features of the nature center that make a great day out with the kids include indoor and outdoor exhibits, including:
- A Messy Play Area nature playground
- A Croquet Court with mallets, balls & wickets made with buckthorn removed from the park.
- A Giant Birdhouse – whose artist-created occupants changes with the seasons.
- A Big Eagle & Nest with “giant eggs” kids can sit on.
- 29 Prairie Plant Demonstration Planter’s created by a local Boy Scout.
- A “Three Sisters Garden” that combines corn, bean and squash plants in a traditional Ojibway design.
- A rain garden.
- An upside-down garden display.
- A Trail of Birdhouses created by local Girl Scouts
- An Indoor observation beehive. Watch the queen and her workers doing their jobs inside the hive.
- Loaner items can be borrowed at the desk and include kid’s binoculars, magnifying glasses and bug-catchers. You can also pick up a scavenger hunt sheet and a trail map.
Summer Camp at Sally Manzara Interpretive Nature Center
The nature center hosts summer camps for toddlers through kids to age 12. Camp length varies between 1-day camps and 4-day camps and cover various nature themes.