Discovery

Each spring American woodcocks engage in one of nature’s most fascinating courtship displays. Here’s your chance to witness this “sky dance” up close and in-person! This program is appropriate for ages 8 and older. Meet the ranger on the deck of the visitor contact station at parking lot 1. Bring binoculars and a flashlight. Program is limited to 15 participants. Please plan to arrive 15 minutes prior to the program start time.  Preregistration required.

There’s a lot to observe when the weather warms up. Spring is a time when migrating birds return from their wintering grounds and baby animals like deer and squirrels are born. During this April Vacation program, participants will put on their explorer hats and head out into nature to see what’s changing in the animal kingdom. Of course, you can’t head out without the proper gear, so we’ll be making binoculars together to help you better observe the world around you, and animal behavior handouts for sketching and/or writing about your findings.

When and how does water form into ice? When and how does it melt? And what makes it melt faster or slower? We will perform fun science experiments to understand ice and snow, freezing and melting. They we'll put your science knowledge to work to make ice cream!

Join the Joppa Flats STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) Team, where you will work together with other creative and curious students for a weekly engineering challenge! We'll study how scientists and engineers have designed prosthetic legs for elephants, prosthetic beaks for eagles, and the prosthetic tail for "Winter" the Dolphin from Dolphin Tales. In collaboration with other creative and curious students, we'll work on problem-solving skills, increase your awareness of design elements in nature, and unleash your inner scientist!