The night sky is a place of wonders! Be inspired by constellations, craters on the Moon, the rings of Saturn, stellar nurseries, galaxies filled with stars, and more! Come to our monthly, first Friday Star Watch hosted by the Wilderness Center’s Astronomy Club. Star Watch is free and fun for the whole family.  Explore our…

The curiosity of a young boy takes us on a journey to learn about light and its importance to all of us.  The light from fire changed the lives of early humans and the evolution of our understanding and use of light has played an important part in the evolution of human beings.  The Sun,…

Join Sesame Street’s Big Bird and Elmo as they explore the night sky with Hu Hu Zhu, a Muppet from China. Together, we take an imaginary trip from Sesame Street to the Moon and discover how different it is from Earth. Children can interact as they watch, drawing constellations in the sky and counting how…

Mark your calendars now for Enchanted Forest! Details and ticket pricing coming soon! Check back for more information! On October 10th and 11th, 2025, the trails of The Wilderness Center (TWC) will be transformed into The Enchanted Forest. This signature educational event has been happening for over 30 years and is a fall tradition for families…

Mark your calendars now for The Wilderness Center’s 2nd Annual Firefly Festival! Event details and ticket pricing coming soon! Check back for more information. This family-friendly, summer evening event celebrates our shining friends, fireflies! Explore the magical world of fireflies and other nightly creatures, combining education, hands-on activities, and flashes of fun! We are excited…

FREE! Take a tour of the fall night sky with Robin, our Astronomy Education Specialist. Learn what constellations and bright stars are in the night sky this time of year and what planets we can see. Experience some of the incredible deep sky objects this sky has to offer including galaxies, star clusters, and more.…

FREE! Join us for a free bird walk around the ground and trails of The Wilderness Center! Fall migration is a great time to view both resident birds and species that are passing through. We will explore our woodland, prairie, and lake habitats looking for songbirds, waterfowl, shorebirds, and raptors. All birding levels welcome. Please…

Join us as we explore how scholars and scientists throughout the ages used the sky as a calendar and clock to measure the passage of time and how their charts and star catalogs were the beginnings of the modern science of astronomy.  Be inspired by astronomer Johannes Kepler’s story – how his theories about planetary…

Join us as we explore how scholars and scientists throughout the ages used the sky as a calendar and clock to measure the passage of time and how their charts and star catalogs were the beginnings of the modern science of astronomy.  Be inspired by astronomer Johannes Kepler’s story – how his theories about planetary…

Join us for Bats of the Night as we help celebrate International Bat Night!  International Bat Night is observed by 30 countries to spread awareness on bats and their habitat and to do some bat myth busting.  Our program has been designed to be fun and educational for the whole family. Learn from our Bativists. …