Eco-Family Programs 2024

Join the Elmwood Park Zoo Educators during our monthly EcoFamily Programs. Featuring fun, hands-on activities, these programs offer individuals and families a more intensive look at various aspects of the natural world!

All programs are held at Elmwood Park Zoo in our Discovery Classroom unless otherwise noted in the description.

Stoney Creek Stream Search

Saturday, April 20th • 10:00Am-11:30AM

Jump in with both feet and become an enviro-hero by helping zoo educators cleanup & explore Stony Creek. Make a splash as you search for tiny critters that call the creek home, and help improve the health of the watershed by creating a cleaner habitat for both humans and wildlife! Be sure to bring your boots!

Registration is Required. Registration is $5 per individual or group of up to 4 people. If you wish to visit the zoo after the program, Single Day Member admission is required for all non-yearly members.

Pollinator Party

SatURDAY, May 11th • 1:00pm-2:30pm

Buzz on over to the zoo to learn about the beneficial bugs that make our gardens and crops grow! Learn how to attract and provide vital habitat for these important winged friends in your own garden or neighborhood. With the help of educators, you’ll build native bee houses to take home!

 

Registration is Required. Registration is $5 per individual or group of up to 4 people. If you wish to visit the zoo after the program, Single Day Member admission is required for all non-yearly members.

Project Budburst

SatURDAY, June 8th • 10:30am-12:00pm

Join us as we take a closer look at what plants are blooming around the zoo, and which tiny critters are calling them home! Become a citizen scientist and help us collect info on buds and flowers for Project Budburst, which allows researchers to better understand how plants are growing in our changing climate. You’ll also get to pot your own native plant to help attract pollinators to your backyard or neighborhood!

 

Registration is Required. Registration is $5 per individual or group of up to 4 people. If you wish to visit the zoo after the program, Single Day Member admission is required for all non-yearly members.

Nature at Night Hike

SatURDAY, July 20th • 8:00pm-9:30pm at Norristown Farm Park

What kind of critters come awake after dark? Join educators for a nighttime investigation into the world of nocturnal invertebrates as we celebrate National Moth Week!  This citizen science program is held worldwide and celebrates the beauty, life cycles, and habitats of moths. We will take an up close look at these often overlooked, but incredibly important, animals and do a survey of nocturnal insects at the Norristown Farm Park.

Registration is Required. Registration is $5 per individual or group of up to 4 people.

Monarch Madness

SatURDAY, August 24th • 10:30am-12:00pm

Help educators kickoff the start of fall migration for the beautiful and endangered Monarch butterfly! Get a firsthand look at the different life stages of this insect, learn about their incredible migration journey,  and get a chance to provide butterfly habitat in your own neighborhood by bringing home a host plant of your own!

Registration is Required. Registration is $5 per individual or group of up to 4 people. If you wish to visit the zoo after the program, Single Day Member admission is required for all non-yearly members.

Nature Journaling

SatURDAY, September 28th • 10:30am-12:00pm

Join local artist Jack Hobe  for an introduction to nature journaling! This is a method used by real-life scientists and naturalists to collect data and do their work in the field, but it is also a great way for anyone to make a connection with our natural world. This is a practice that anybody can participate in, regardless of their artistic ability. Guests will learn how to tap into their creativity by incorporating diagrams, maps, notations, and many other disciplines into their journaling, using materials provided by the zoo!

Registration is Required. Registration is $5 per individual or group of up to 4 people. If you wish to visit the zoo after the program, Single Day Member admission is required for all non-yearly members.

Celebrate Bats!

SatURDAY, October 26 • 4:00pm-5:30pm

Every October we recognize Bat Week, an international celebration designed to raise awareness about the need for bat conservation. These nocturnal creatures are often misunderstood, but they act as valuable predators to many insects, including mosquitos! Join educators as we kick off the celebration with hands-on activities, games and an up close look at these creatures of the night!

Registration is Required. Registration is $5 per individual or group of up to 4 people.

Owl Prowl

Fri, November 15 • 6:00pm-7:30pm at Norristown Farm Park

Whooo’s awake in the dark? Join educators for a night hike to explore the sleeping forest, listen for some nocturnal feathered friends, and experience a close encounter with one of our ambassador owls. Be sure to dress warm and put on your best listening ears!  This program is held at  Norristown Farm Park.

Registration is Required. Registration is $5 per individual or group of up to 4 people.

Natural Wreath Making Workshop

SatURDAY, DecEMBER 14th • 1:00pm-3:00pm

Welcome the holiday season with your own natural wreath! By using leftover branches from trees that would ordinarily be thrown out, you can create a festive and beautiful decoration without the environmental impact! Join us to make a wreath you can bring home. We will provide the evergreen branches, frame, decorations and wire, you bring your creativity! $10 per wreath (not per family).