Calendar

May 2013

Sunday

Monday

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Saturday

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* Backyard Chicken BasicsBackyard Chicken Basics

Time: 7:00 pm

This workshop covers the basic information needed to raise hens in urban and suburban areas. Participants will receive a certificate of completion that enables them to get a permit to legally keep chickens in Cedar Rapids. Registration required by 4:00 PM on Wednesday, May 1st. Cost: M: $7, NM: $10. Call 362-0664 to register by phone or register online at indiancreeknaturecenter.org.

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* Annual Spring Plant SaleAnnual Spring Plant Sale

Time: 9:00 am

The Nature Center Guild has done it again! You will find everything you need to create beautiful gardens! Native prairie and woodland wildflowers, traditional garden flowers, hostas, and more. Vendors offer vegetable and herb seedlings, garden yard art, willow towers and trellises to add interest to your garden beds. Come early! Sale runs 9:00am-12:00pm Free admission
* Bunny BasicsBunny Basics

Time: 1:00 pm

Indian Creek Nature Center is proud to announce the arrival of a new (animal) family member! You may have seen Toby hopping around or hanging out in his cage since February, but now he’s ready to make his first official appearance! Our little rabbit is a mammal just like squirrels, cats, bats, and us! Learn about mammal traits and discover interesting facts about rabbits, both domestic and wild. For children aged 4-8 accompanied by an adult. Cost: $5/M Child; $6/NM Child; Adult: Free Advance registration required. Call 319-362-0664 to register by phone or click here to register online.

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* PP: Sounds of SpringPP: Sounds of Spring

Time: 9:30 am

Did you hear something? It is the wonderful sound of frogs calling at a wetland near you. Learn the life cycle of a frog and find out the many ways it survives in the wild. Take a peek in our pond as we go on a fun frog walk. For preschoolers and their parents. Cost: $5/M child; $6/NM child; adults admitted free. Limited to 14 children. Registration is required by 3:00pm the day before the program. Register by calling 319-362-0664 or click here to register online.

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* PP: Sounds of SpringPP: Sounds of Spring

Time: 9:30 am

Did you hear something? It is the wonderful sound of frogs calling at a wetland near you. Learn the life cycle of a frog and find out the many ways it survives in the wild. Take a peek in our pond as we go on a fun frog walk. For preschoolers and their parents. Cost: $5/M child; $6/NM child; adults admitted free. Limited to 14 children. Registration is required by 3:00pm the day before the program. Register by calling 319-362-0664 or click here to register online.
* Get to Know the Spring SkyGet to Know the Spring Sky

Time: 8:00 pm

The constellations helped ancient cultures know when to plant their crops in the spring, and when to harvest them in the fall. We no longer rely on the sky to tell us how to live our lives, but the mysteries of the night and the diamonds shining down from above still exist. Learn the constellations of the spring sky, hear intriguing legends about them, and make up some of your own! Binoculars and a couple telescopes will be available, but feel free to bring your own, along with a lawn chair or blanket to sit on. If it’s cloudy, we’ll go on a night hike. Cost: $5/M Adult; $6/NM Adult; $2/Child Registration requested. Call 319-362-0664 to register by phone or click here to register online.

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* Walking with Jim LandenbergerWalking with Jim Landenberger

Time: 8:00 am

Artist, naturalist, teacher, and former Nature Center board member Jim Landenberger led many walks through prairies and woodlands, always searching for beautiful birds. Nearly ten years following his death, his influence remains. Join Rich Patterson for a walk to honor this amazing man as the book he was working on at the time of his death—THE RAPTORS OF IOWA—is released by the University of Iowa Press. Books will be available for sale in the Creekside Shop. The walk will be a circular route of about one mile through habitats Jim loved, followed by coffee and rolls. As part of our 40th Anniversary celebration, this is a free public event; donations are welcomed. Registration requested. Please call 319-362-0664 by 4:00pm on Friday, May 10th, to register. No online registration for this program.

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* Ribbit's Froggy FriendsRibbit's Froggy Friends

Time: 12:00 pm

Spring is Ribbit’s favorite season so Grandma and Grandpa Storyteller will share a frog tale or two and explore the pond to learn all about Ribbit’s life cycle. This will be our last What’s Hoppin’ In? program for the season. Bring a picnic at noon, or join us at 12:20 for storytime. Program is geared for children aged 3-7 years accompanied by an adult. Cost: M Child: $5; NM Child: $6; Adults: FreeRegistration requested. Call 319-362-0664 to register by phone or click here to register online.
* Plant A Pizza GardenPlant A Pizza Garden

Time: 1:00 pm

Who likes pizza? Nothing is better than enjoying fresh ingredients from your own backyard pizza garden! Kids, bring Mom and Dad to learn about the plants, help us create a pizza garden along the Sense of Wonder Trail, and take home plants and seeds for your own backyard garden! Cost: $10/M Family; $15/NM Family Registration requested. Call 319-362-0664 to register by phone or click here to register online.

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* Full Moon Labyrinth WalkFull Moon Labyrinth Walk

Time: 8:00 pm

Experience the spring prairie on a full moon evening as you stroll through our prairie labyrinth with Marion Patterson. Cost: $4/M; $5/NM Registration requested. Call 319-362-0664 to register by phone or click here to register online.

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* Frog WalkFrog Walk

Time: 7:30 pm

Wear your boots to explore the wet edges of our ponds looking for spring peppers, chorus frogs and their larger amphibian kin. Learn to recognize different frog songs. Great family fun! Meet at the Barn Cost: $3/M; $5/NM; $1/Child. Advance registration requested. Call 319-362-0664 to register by phone or click here to register online.

Category Key
	Adults
	General
	Holidays
	Kids
	Nature Camp
	Scouts
	Special Events

Calendar developed and supported by Kieran O'Shea

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Upcoming Events

Maple Syrup Festival

Where does maple syrup come from? If you said “the grocery store”, you need to come to the Indian Creek Nature Center’s Maple Syrup Festival! Held annually the first full weekend in March, you will experience the entire process of making maple syrup from start to finish. The whole family will enjoy discovering how this sweet concoction gets from tree to table!

Practice tapping a tree
Collect sap for syrup making
Visit educational stations depicting historic syruping methods
Watch sap boil into deliciously sweet maple syrup.

Syruping programs for the general public are also available Saturday afternoons in March following Festival weekend. Follow the entire process from tree to table and end with a sweet treat! Check the calendar for program dates. You can also schedule your small, private group for a syruping program at the Nature Center during March. Call 319-362-0664 to schedule a program.

30+ Years Running!

A young girl enjoys a big bite of pancake dripping with real maple syrup at the Indian Creek Nature Center's Maple Syrup Festival in 2011

Mark your calendar! The 2014 Maple Syrup Festival is Saturday and Sunday, March 1st and 2nd. We’ll be serving from 8:30AM until 12:30 PM each day. As always, we’ll have the education stations up to show you how syrup is made from tree to table, live music, delicious pancakes and REAL maple syrup…and who knows what other special treats might be in store!