Jester Park Nature Center is located in Granger, Iowa, and is filled with tons of educational and fun things to do for all ages.
Address: 12130 NW 128th St Granger, Iowa 50109
Hours:
- Monday – Friday | 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
- Saturday | 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
- Sunday | Closed
- Open Holidays | Noon – 4 p.m.
Closed various holidays. Check here.
Cost: Free
Website: http://www.jesterparknaturecenter.com/
Check out our 10 most favorite things to do at Jester Park!
The Jester Park Nature Center is filled with so much to do. You could easily spend hours exploring and learning! When you first enter the nature center there is a desk when you walk in that has volunteers available to answer any questions you may have. All of the “fun” activities are located on the lower level, but there are some amazing views and some educational resources upstairs too.
The kids really enjoyed using binoculars to look out and search for animals.
The lower level has many activities. I love the hands-on items such as the shelf of real-life artifacts. There were snake skins, aminal fur, turtle shell and more.
The kids enjoyed reading and acting out fun nature stories!
There is a huge structure that includes boards you can pull up to learn more about different animals. There are also fun artifacts embedded into the structure.
You can also climb through the structure. It is like a huge fort filled with pictures of different animals and more.
Monte loved the microscope where he was able to look at butterfly wings. The computer with a scanner was pretty fun too! You can pick up a picture of an animal that has a QR code on it. You can the QR code and different facts about the animal appear on the screen.
There are several places to sit and take in the beautiful views. Grab a book and relax! Or if you have a little one, play ‘I Spy’.
If it is warm enough, you can take a hike down the trail to the pond. This is a great way to get fresh air and explore the outdoors as well.
The Jester Park Nature Center is a great place to visit all year round, especially during the colder months. I have a feeling we will be visiting a lot this winter. The nature center also has great outdoor space as well with tables and an outdoor fireplace. There is also a fun stream that runs around part of the nature center, which will open next year. It will be a great spot for kids to play and learn!
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