Events

This program includes handgun safety, operation, shooting fundamentals, maintenance, and safe storage. Equipment and ammunition will be provided; you may bring your own firearm and ammunition to the live-fire session.

Registration required (ages 18+) Are you a foodie? Have you been curious about Dutch oven cooking? Use this skill on your next car camping trip or during the holidays to free up space in the oven. Come out and learn a new technique. This program will be held outdoors so dress appropriately.

Registration required (ages 18+) Are you a foodie? Have you been curious about Dutch oven cooking? Use this skill on your next car camping trip or during the holidays to free up space in the oven. Come out and learn a new technique. This program will be held outdoors so dress appropriately.

Registration required for each attending (all ages)
What in nature are you most thankful for? Search the trails near the Nature Center to find hidden “pumpkins” of knowledge about special things only the natural world can do for us. Collect four gratitude pumpkins to redeem for a special prize.

Registration required for each attending (all ages)
What in nature are you most thankful for? Search the trails near the Nature Center to find hidden “pumpkins” of knowledge about special things only the natural world can do for us. Collect four gratitude pumpkins to redeem for a special prize.

Registration required (adults)
If you live near trees you have no doubt heard the distinct drumming of a woodpecker. But did you know that woodpeckers play an important role in Missouri’s forest communities? Join us as we peck into the wacky world of Missouri’s woodpeckers. Plus, we will demonstrate how you can make suet to attract woodpeckers to your backyard.

Registration required (all ages)
Who’s hopping up that tree, making that sound or eating that birdseed? Find out the answer to these and many more questions as we explore the feathery creatures of our backyards. Weather dependent we will hike down the trail to explore the nearby woods for cool bird species. This program is part of the Blue Springs Let’s Move.

Registration required for each attending (all ages)
Energy flows through nature in amazing and dynamic ways. Explore food webs through games to help understand how nature is all connected.

Registration required for youngster only (ages 3-5 with an adult)
There are critters in those woods! Out in that field, there is wildlife! Don’t believe me? We may not always see animals out in the wild but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there. Critters may think they’re sneaky but. . . they always leave a trail!

Registration required (all ages)
Winter seems to be a time when wild animals either hibernate or head south but there are quite a few who are winter warriors! Adapting to the environment is just one of the many ways animals seem to thrive in the sometimes-harsh conditions of the Missouri winters. Join us in an exploration of how some animals not only survive in the chilly winter but thrive.

Objectives: Students will learn a variety of techniques for the art of fly tying. Students will make flies that catch fish as well as look good.

Format: A typical class will consist of 2 hours of classroom work per night. Students may bring note taking materials if desired. Room will be open one half hour prior to class if anyone needs extra practice or has questions. This class will have the "In Classroom" session socially distanced, and there will be another session to run concurrently as an Online Virtual class for people who want to stay home, or are too far away to attend in person.

Required: You must pre-register by going to our website and register under the events tab, before December 30th, 2020. If you have a set of fly tying tools please indicate that with your registration (tools are not required for the live class, but they are required for the virtual class). All classes are structured to add knowledge by session. If you miss a class you will need to catch up before the next class. Things we learn later in the class will utilize acquired knowledge from previous classes.

To be successful: Each virtual participant must acquire their own tools. The materials will be sent to you once a week, a week ahead of time, to the mailing address you provide in registration. The tools you will need: Common Vice, thread bobbin, black tying thread 140, and 210 Denier (2/0 and 6/0), bobbin threader, "Dr. Slick Rotary whip finisher, or Cabela’s brand (the kind that freely spins in the handle), hair packer, hair stacker, dubbing brush, fly tying scissors, tying wax, hackle pliers, and bodkin. Optional additions: head cement, multiple bobbins, other colors of thread (red, white, and tan) a wine cork for displaying tied flies, small block of wood with 1/8, -1/4 inch holes drilled in it for tool storage, cheap magnet for organizing hooks, extra scissors, small wire cutters, and small tackle box for storage.