Hands-on Programming
Take a hands-on approach to exploring the natural world. These informal programs offer just the right combination of guided instruction and discovery-based learning.
Outside In
Experience the outdoors—inside! A tortoise, rabbit, legless lizard, and hissing cockroach are just a few of the live animals that you might meet in our discovery center. Investigate different habitats, examine a real meteorite, search for fossil footprints, dig for shark teeth, watch a working beehive, and more!
Pre-K–4th Grade
35 minutes
$40 for 10-30 students or
$75 for 31-60 students
Reservations required
The Big Dig
Let’s go fossil hunting! Become a field paleontologist and dig for dinosaur fossils in a setting straight out of the badlands. Academy educators teach you how to use the tools of the trade, supervise the digging, and help identify fossil finds.
Pre-K–5th Grade
20 minutes
$30 for 10-30 students or
$55 for 31-60 students
Reservations required
Butterflies!
Stroll among beautiful LIVE butterflies and moths from around the world in our year-round tropical garden. Watch colorful adults emerge from their pupae and discover other forms of metamorphosis.
20-minutes
$1.50 per student
Reservations required