Raleigh Parks Winter-Spring 2024 Leisure Ledger

Youth Animal Survival

Love Bugs! Age: 2-6 yrs. Children will enjoy games, stories and songs all featuring those six-legged creatures we call bugs! Children will see and touch live bugs and will create a buggy valentine craft to take home. Preregistration is required. Children must be accompanied by adults. Adults attend free. For more information, contact Nature Programs at 919-996-6856. Carolina Pines Community Center – Course Fee: $2 Feb 7 W 10:30-11:30am Feb 7 W 12:30-1:30pm Kiwanis Community Center – Course Fee: $2 Feb 14 W 10:30-11:30am Laurel Hills Community Center – Course Fee: $2 Feb 13 Tu 10:30-11:30am Feb 13 Tu 12:30-1:30pm Sertoma Arts Center – Course Fee: $2 Feb 8 Th 10:30-11:30am Pint-Sized Planters Age: 4-6 yrs. What do plants need to survive? Why are plants important? In this springtime program we will explore the needs of plants, make our very own seed starters, and become little scientists as we take a closer look at plants! Participant(s) must be accompanied by an adult. Adult(s) attend free and do not need to register. Thomas G. Crowder Woodland Center Apr 27 Sa 9:00-11:00am Fee: $5 Seasons of the Sun Age: 3-6 yrs. The temperature gets colder in winter, trees lose their leaves in fall, and flowers bloom in spring and summer. Why do the seasons change? What types of weather do you associate with each season? Come learn about changes in the sun’s position in the sky and the different types of weather in each season through math and literacy activities, stories, an experiment, and a craft. Forest Ridge Park – Course Fee: $4 Feb 12 M 10:30am-12:00pm Apr 8 M 10:30am-12:00pm Shake Your Tail Feathers! Age: 2-6 yrs. Children will shake their tail feathers as they come to understand the many different kinds, colors and textures of tails that trail behind all sorts of wild creatures. Games, stories, songs and live animals will engage little learners. Preregistration is required. Children must be accompanied by adults. Adults attend free. For more information, contact Nature Programs at 919-996-6856. Carolina Pines Community Center – Course Fee: $2 Mar 14 Th 10:30-11:30am Mar 14 Th 12:30-1:30pm Kiwanis Community Center – Course Fee: $2 Mar 20 W 10:30-11:30am Laurel Hills Community Center – Course Fee: $2 Mar 12 Tu 10:30-11:30am Mar 12 Tu 12:30-1:30pm Sertoma Arts Center – Course Fee: $2 Mar 21 Th 10:30-11:30am

Snooze or Cruise Age: 3-6 yrs. BRRR it is cold outside! What do you do to stay warm? Put on gloves, coat, and a hat! But what do animals do? There is less food available, the trees are bare so it is not as easy to hide, and the temperature has dropped. How does the winter forest change? How do animals respond? Some migrate, some hibernate, and some make lifestyle changes. Come learn about the adaptations animals make to survive winter! Forest Ridge Park – Course Fee: $3 Jan 17 W 10:30am-12:00pm Super Animal Senses Age: 3-6 yrs. Did you know ants have a super-sense of smell, which directs them to food from far away? Did you know a starfish uses its arm to see? Did you know crickets use their legs to hear? Did you know butterflies use their feet to taste nectar? Come learn about the amazing super senses of many animals and how these adaptations help them survive. There will be hands-on activities using your senses as well as stories to help you learn about some unique animal senses. Forest Ridge Park – Course Fee: $3 Feb 26 M 10:30am-12:00pm Mar 11 M 10:30am-12:00pm Apr 29 M 10:30am-12:00pm Swamp Romp Ages 3- yrs. Bring your budding naturalist to Walnut Creek Wetland Park for an exciting learning experience! A craft, engaging activity, perhaps a story and a guided walk through the wetland will awaken your child's sense of wonder. Each month features a different theme. Adults must be present with children. Please register at least four days in advance. Walnut Creek Wetland Park – Course Fee: $3 Jan 17 W 11:00am-12:00pm Feb 7 W 11:00am-12:00pm Mar 20 W 11:00am-12:00pm Apr 17 W 11:00am-12:00pm Winter in the Wilderness! Age: 2-6 yrs. Through games, stories and songs, we will discover how wild animals manage these cold days of winter. We will learn how some animals snooze, others move to warm places while others adapt in order to stay active in the chilly temperatures. Live creatures to see up close will bring this program to life. Preregistration is required. Children must be accompanied by adults. Adults attend free. For more information, contact Nature Programs at 919-996-6856. Carolina Pines Community Center – Course Fee: $2 Jan 11 Th 10:30-11:30am Jan 11 Th 12:30-1:30pm Kiwanis Community Center Jan 10 W 10:30-11:30am Laurel Hills Community Center Jan 23 Tu 10:30-11:30am Jan 23 Tu 12:30-1:30pm Sertoma Arts Center Jan 4 Th 10:30-11:30am

Age: 3-5 yrs. BRRR, it’s cold and the trees are bare. There is less food available. How does life change in the winter forest? Some animals hibernate, some migrate, and some make changes in their lifestyle. ome learn about animal life and the daptions animals make to survive! orest Ridge Park – Course Fee: $3 an 21 Su 3:00-4:30pm C a F J Beginner Botany Age: 7-14 yrs. Learn some botany basics with hands-on activities at the preserve! Trees, flowers, seeds and more are all parts of the world of plants. Activities will align with the ecoEXPLORE program's Botany Field Season Badge. A.L. Wilkerson Nature Preserve – Course Fee: $4 Mar 1 F 3:30-5:00pm Bird Bingo Age: 7-14 yrs. Learn how to use binoculars and how to identify some common birds that visit Wilkerson's bird feeders. We'll go on a short walk in search of more birds in the preserve as we play bird bingo - can you get bingo? A.L. Wilkerson Nature Preserve – Course Fee: $4 Feb 16 F 3:30-5:00pm Celebrate World Wetland Day Age: 8-99 yrs. Even though it is cold outside, salamanders are out and about (especially on rainy nights), looking for places to lay eggs in pools of water that often dry up during the summer (vernal pools). In honor of world wetlands day, we will hike to a vernal pool to look for salamanders or their eggs, and will talk about the biology of these amazing animals. Children must be accompanied by adults. Preregistration is required for planning purposes. Durant Nature Preserve – Course Fee: $8 Feb 3 Sa 2:00-4:00pm Equinox Astronomy Age: 7-14 yrs. Why do we say fall days are ‘getting shorter’? How do animals know when to migrate? We'll construct models to understand how the source of the seasons is literally, ‘out of this world.’ A.L. Wilkerson Nature Preserve – Course Fee: $5 Mar 20 W 3:30-5:00pm Explore a Tiny World! Age: 10-99 yrs. Come have a look under the microscope at critters that live in our lake. We’ll talk about these tiny organisms, and some of the interesting things they do, while taking a look at this foreign world right under our noses. Children must be accompanied by adults. Pre-registration is required. Durant Nature Preserve – Course Fee: $5 Mar 27 W 6:00-7:00pm

Nature

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Leisure Ledger January-April 2024 | parks.raleighnc.gov