Summer 2024 Discovery Days
Roaring Brook Nature Center’s SUMMER 2024 Programs offer your child a unique blend of education and recreation that takes advantage of the curiosity and sense of wonder that all children feel toward the natural world.
Download a copy of our SUMMER 2024 BROCHURE
Program Details:
- Monday through Friday
- 9 am to Noon
- Participants should bring a snack daily (NO Nut products please)
July 1-3 ONLY: $190 (3-day program)
July 1-3 ONLY: $165 (3-day program)
Program Catergories:
- Acorns (ages 4 & 5)
- Little Sprouts (Kindergarten-Grade 1)
- Junior Saplings (Grades 2 & 3)
- Mighty Oaks (Grades 4 and up)
Grade levels are those your child will enter in the fall.
Registration Details:
The descriptions of our programs and the link for online registration can be found below. You can register online by clicking the program’s title.
Registration Form (Print version only.)
- Early registration is highly recommended due to limited enrollment.
- Full payment is required at the time of registration.
Required Forms:
Submit forms to:
Mail: 70 Gracey Road, Canton, CT 06019 or Email: RBNC@thechildrensmuseumct.org
Forms must be submitted at least one week before the program begins.
Refund Policy:
- Program fees are non-refundable.
- If your plans change, call us as soon as possible.
- We will make every effort to reschedule your child to a different class.
- If your child cannot attend, receive full credit toward another summer program.
Thank you! All of the programs are fantastic & you make them the BEST. People here are top notch.
– Parent of Nature Arts class student
Acorns
Programs for youngsters with a developing interest in the natural world.
Animal Babies … June 17 – 21
Find out how different animals take care of their young. Look at nests, eggs, tadpoles and much more!
Butterfly Bonanza … June 24 – 28
Experience the magical journey from caterpillar to butterfly. What happens inside a “pupa?” Can you say metamorphosis?
Sounds of the Forest … July 1 – 3 Three-day program
Birds were made for singing, how about you? When summer arrives, the animal kingdom is buzzing with noise and every animal has a part. Rabbits thump their feet, dragonflies zoom and turtles are splish splashing! Come hear their songs and join the jamboree!
Toad-ly Awesome … July 8 – 12
How is a toad different from a frog? Find out what makes amphibians so amazing!
Mighty Minis … July 15 – 19
The strongest creatures in the world are often the smallest, but they are also the most unknown. Let’s discover this MIGHTY world of tiny creatures.
Splish, Splash … July 22 – 26
Water, water everywhere – what does it do? Where does it go? Who lives in it? Who needs it?
Cozy Animal Homes (NEW) … July 29 – August 2
Peer into burrows and forest nooks, searching for how animals use their surroundings to make a cozy home for their family!
Curious Critters… August 5 – 9
Many animals live close to humans and some, like squirrels, birds, and even skunks, might be found in your own backyard!. Learn about their fascinating lives, their important place in our ecosystem, and why they live close to people rather than in the woods.
Dig It… August 12 – 16
Let’s go digging in the woods and fields, and see what is happening under our feet. With magnifiers and other tools we will explore who lives there and what grows there.
Little Sprouts
Each week offers a theme around which activities have been developed. Programs include short hikes, games, stories, crafts, and visits with the Nature Center’s animals.
Dinosaur Discoveries … June 17 – 21
Uncover the secrets of dinosaurs that once called Connecticut home. Learn just how big dinosaurs really were and join in on a fossil dig!
Listen, Look, Smell & Feel … June 24 – 28
Animal senses are often much more acute than our own. Learn how their senses help animals find food and avoid predators. Use your own senses to learn more about the world around us.
Creepies & Crawlies … July 1 – 3 Three-day program
Bugs, spiders, snakes, worms, and more! Use nets, hand lenses, and your own explorations to learn how these animals live.
Teeth, Tails & Claws… July 8 – 12
Why does a hummingbird have a beak like a straw and a possum a tail like a rope? How do animal’s adaptations help them survive?
Fish, Frogs & Polliwogs … July 15 – 19
Get your boots and buckets ready and head to the stream and pond! Discover the mysterious world below the surface. Who lives there and what do they look like?
Bird Expedition … July 22 – 26
Robins, bluebirds, and owls; oh my, this class will be a hoot! Your little sprout will explore all that birds have to offer through hands-on activities, exploratory hikes, and “egg-citing” crafts.
Water, Wind & Sun … July 29 – August 2
Find your “force” while exploring the forces of nature! Join us for exciting science experiments, magnets, volcanic eruptions, and much, much more!
Trail Blazers … August 5 – 9
Take to the trails for a grand exploration! Let’s follow our curiosity and search for animal signs, watch for birds, and peek at plants.
Nature’s Detectives … August 12 – 16
Who left these tracks? What made that sound? We live in a world of wonder, so let’s explore, use fancy gadgets, and find answers to these and other questions.
Summer Send-off … August 19 – 23 for students K– 5th Grade
Spend the final days of summer exploring the forest, fields, and streams around the Nature Center.
Junior Saplings
Each week offers a theme around which activities have been developed. Programs include short hikes, games, stories, crafts, and visits with the Nature Center’s animals.
Nature’s Engineers … June 17 – 21
Meet animal engineers and see how the structures they build are designed to help them raise their young, survive the winter, store food, or escape predators. Learn how some of these animals change their environment and what we can learn from them.
Backyard Science … June 24 – 28
Time to head outside and rediscover the mysteries that exist in our own backyards. This week will be full of experiments, adventures and explorations!
Rock Rockity Rock … July 1 – 3 Three-day program
Calling all rock hounds! Jump into geology. We’ll start a collection, make fossils, create sculptures, and have a rockin’ good time.
Naturally Creative … July 8-12
Paint, draw, sculpt and more using as many natural materials as possible. Designed to help students interpret what they see in the natural world in an artful way.
Junior Naturalists … July 15 -19
Learn about the various animals in your backyard and what makes them so unique.!
Caring for Critters … July 22 – 26
Have you ever made a salad for a turtle or given a rain shower to a frog? Learn what special care our resident animals need. Get a behind the scene look at what it takes to keep our animals healthy.
Nature’s Olympics … July 29 – August 2
Defy the limits as you push yourself and nature. Learn about the gold medalists in your backyard and what extraordinary adaptations allow plants and animals to make it to the final round.
A World of Water... August 5 -9
Did you know that a single drop of water (H20) contains thousands of living things? We’ll search for the creatures that inhabit this wet and wonderful world!
Wilderness Survival … August 12 – 16
What would you do if you were lost in the woods? How would you find and make your own shelter? Discover how people and animals develop skills to survive in the wild.
Summer Send-off … August 19 – 23 for students K– 5th Grade
Spend the final days of summer exploring the forest, fields and streams around the Nature Center.
Mighty Oaks
Designed for the student with a high degree of interest in the natural world.
Bring a snack and water (NO Nut products please)
In Cold Blood … June 17 – 21
Slither into summer as we seek out snakes, as well as other reptiles and amphibians in their native habitats. We’ll be on the lookout for frogs, toads, and turtles.
The Road Less Traveled … June 24 – 28
Step off the beaten path and explore the hidden reaches of Werner’s Woods to uncover hidden wonders and discover what it really means to explore the natural world and the living things within it.
Art in the Wild … July 1 – 3 Three-day program
Three days of nature themed crafts including plant collages, mushroom and flower prints, rock sculptures, and more.
Digging for Buried Treasure … July 8 – 12
Explore the world beneath our feet. Learn how to turn over rocks and logs respectfully, and there is no telling what “treasures” you may find!
Wetlands Week … July 15 – 19
We’ll trek into a variety of wetland habitats to find out what animals call wetlands home. Be prepared to get your feet wet, and find out why wetlands are important.
Survival of the Fittest … July 22 – 26
We are not the biggest, strongest, or fastest creatures, but yet, we can survive in many habitats. Learn survival skills like shelter construction, fire-building, plant identification and more!
Zookeeper for a Week … July 29 – August 2
Learn how to care for the many animals kept at the Nature Center. Find out how some of our animals came to live at the Nature Center.
Explorations … August 5 – 9
Join us for an active week exploring local habitats. We will hike to the furthest reaches of Werner’s Woods and adjacent land trust properties, including the Onion Mountain Ridge, a critical habitat!
Adapt or Perish! … August 12 – 16
What’s so special about a possum’s thumbs, a porcupine’s quills, or a skunk’s smell? All animals and plants have adaptations that allow them to survive in their habitats.
Summer Send-off … August 19 – 23 for students K–5th Grade
Spend the final days of summer exploring the forest, fields and streams around the Nature Center.