We love nature centers and this is another fun one! While they don't have near the selection of animals and reptiles as other centers the nature trails were awesome and the girls still had so much fun. Just outside of the building are two bird enclosures, one housing an owl and the other a falcon (I think ). When the attendant gave them water Princess Tiger Lily asked if she could go in the cage too, she really is fearless. The owl flew about the cage and put on a show for us when Princess TL got close. We ventured inside to see what creepy things we could find. In the foyer was the front desk, a couple mice, and a frog. Both girls loved watching the mice scurry about. We followed the animal prints down the hall and came to a bird viewing room. It was all glass windows with a couch and some bean bags for the kiddos. We did in fact view some birds and a hungry squirrel eating from the freshly filled feeders. Picasso squealed with excitement seeing the birds darting back and forth pecking at bits of food. We left the birds their privacy and stepped outside in the courtyard to see more owls. One was completely white and kinda looked like a lion in the face. The other had spooky yellow and black eyes and was peering from its branch wondering what we were going to do. We peered back in awe of the creativity of the Lord when making such creatures. Nature truly amazes me and the vast variety and tiny details of each flower, tree, animal, fish and so on baffles my mind. We headed back inside and continued down the path set before us. Those tiny animal feet sure were cute to follow. It lead us to a large aquarium with fish and a turtle and just down the hall were two snakes and two turtles. Same as at Lakeside Nature Center one snake kept going vertical and it was really neat to watch. At the art station the girls made some chalk impressions and of course covered themselves in chalk dust. After they were done making a mess we searched for other animals but that was the extent of it. We decided to take a hike and followed some of the trails outside. We came upon a couple teepees made from branches and the girls practiced their rain dance. We found a pond and they just had to throw rocks in it so we took a break from walking and they practiced their pitch. Once their arms were tired we explored some more and saw some kids putting on a play for their family on the outdoor stage. Since I was in flip flops I didn't want to hike too much more so we turned around and headed back to the parking lot. We said goodbye to the birds out front and Picasso stopped to help a worm get from the puddle it was in on the sidewalk to the cool, fresh dirt. I'm sure it was eternally grateful especially since several of it's friends already met their fate of being squished on the sidewalk. Even though this center was smaller it was still worth the trip and I think if you took a picnic lunch would make for a fantastic afternoon.
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