Nature Discovery Center

07/23/2024

We're having to cancel our Nature Story Time for tomorrow, Wednesday, July 24. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. We hope to see you next week!

07/21/2024

Get your 2024 alligator themed NDC t-shirt today! Every year we change the animal featured on our shirts to highlight local wildlife and our beloved NDC Animal Ambassadors. This year's shirt honors Krosis, our first alligator baby in the Angelo McNulty-Portnoy Alligator Enclosure you can see right through the windows on our front porch. Many of you have visited Krosis and watched him/her grow this year from a little bitty baby to the robust young alligator he/she is today. Your NDC t-shirt purchase helps us care for Krosis and all of our animal ambassadors, providing them with ever updated and clean enclosures, new sources of enrichment, and balanced diets to meet their nutritional needs. And wearing your NDC shirts about town helps us escape our status as a "hidden gem" in Houston. A bonus for you - our NDC t-shirts have been reviewed as "SUPER comfortable!" by those who routinely buy them. It's a win-win purchase!

Scan the QR code or follow the link below to make your purchase(s) today. Local purchases only. You must be able to pick up your shirt in person at the Center.

https://naturediscoverycentertexas.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/naturediscoverycentertexas/product.jsp?product=30&

07/20/2024

Blaze loves to have visitors! You can come say hello to Blaze and to our other Discovery Room animals today and tomorrow from 10am to 2pm. Our Discovery Rooms are OPEN again for regular summer hours now that we have power and air conditioning again! Please come and visit, we've missed you the last few weeks!

07/16/2024

Are you up for the ooze? Mess Makers will be exploring Things that Ooze on Sunday, July 28th. The 10am class is full, but there are plenty of openings in the 1pm class. Register online to join in the fun. You and your mess maker kiddos (ages 3 to 7) can make and play with oobleck and slime and dabble in other ooze-y fun and then leave the mess with us!

Register online at https://naturediscoverycenter.org/activities/summer-mess-makers/

07/16/2024

NDC Director DeAndra Ramsey just sent me this picture saying, "I know it is not the most exciting photo, but I can not tell you how happy I am to be working in my office from my computer connected to the internet!" WE HAVE POWER AT THE NDC!!!!!! Staff are overjoyed that the temperature is falling from 88 degrees upstairs in the Discovery Rooms. And we are looking forward to seeing our animal ambassadors showing signs of being much more comfortable in the hours ahead! If you are still without power, we feel for you, and we hope it is your turn soon!

07/16/2024

Cross your fingers and toes! It is a wonderful sight to have linemen working in and around the park! We are hoping this means that the Center will be powered up (and cooling down) sometime today.

07/13/2024

We are sorry that we don't have better news to share. The Center is still without power. Our building, including our Discovery Rooms, will be closed tomorrow, Saturday, July 13.

07/11/2024

Taking these before and after photos makes me feel so much better about all the work the NDC Staff and volunteers have been doing this week to bring the park back to "normal". It is hot and exhausting and still not complete. But we make a good team and generally have good humor despite the conditions!

07/11/2024

The park is still closed for your safety. The nature playground looks a whole lot better than it did yesterday, but there are still hanging widowmakers like this one right above the canoe. See (red circle) where it is snapped and dangling? Please avoid the park until we give the all clear. Thanks!

07/10/2024

Progress is being made in our clean up efforts at the Center, and the debris piles continue to grow. But the Center is still without power. The park is still full of hazards, so please wait to come visit the park until we post that it is open and safe. We hope your clean-up efforts at home are going well! And that your power and internet have been restored!

07/09/2024

The park is a mess of downed trees, branches, hanging widowmakers, and lots of debris. We have closed the park for your safety. The Center will remain closed as long as we have no power. We have had to cancel our Family Nature Night and another day of camp. Everyone impacted by the cancelations should have been notified by email. We will be jn touch again with an update as soon as we are able to. We have started the clean up process, but it will be a slow process. We thank you for your understanding.

07/09/2024

More post Beryl pictures to come. But you can tell the park is in rough shape if this is what you can see from the parking lot. The Center still has no power. But staff are checking on and feeding our animal ambassadors and making sure they have fresh water.

07/08/2024

Unfortunately, we must cancel our Summer Science Camp for tomorrow, Tuesday, July 9. The Center is still without power and the park is in rough shape. Emails went out to camp families this evening. We are so sorry for the inconvenience. Please stay safe during clean up!

07/08/2024

There are several trees down in the park. Please avoid the trails until we can further assess them for safety.

07/08/2024

Campers, we'll miss you tomorrow! Stay safe! Parents of campers should have received a message from De this morning or early afternoon about this week's schedule.

Park visitors, use caution when you venture out to the park after the storm. We'll be checking on any downed limbs or trees and making trail closure announcements if they are necessary.

07/07/2024

Our animal ambassadors are all getting some special treatment in preparation for Beryl's arrival. They are settling into a variety of vacation homes for safety and have received a well stocked buffet of food and water. Here is Clover in her luxury suite.

07/03/2024

Our July 10 Family Nature Night is all about our Furry Friends! Please register online and join Head Naturalist Eric Duran for an interactive program about mammals with themed crafts, snacks, live animal encounters and a brief nature walk in the park. Our furry and fuzzy animal ambassadors will be the stars of the show, but there will be mammal specimens including skins and skulls from our natural history collection to see up close as well! Spread the word to your family, friends, and neighbors by sharing this post. And be sure to register online at https://naturediscoverycenter.org/activities/nature-nights/

06/29/2024

Our marvelous Mud Day is over. But we're still beaming with excitement and good vibes about it! Help us keep the Mud Day love flowing by sharing 1 or 2 or maybe 10 (LOL) of your favorite Mud Day photos!

06/26/2024

Who is ready for Mud Day at the Nature Discovery Center? Bring your water bottles and towels and come dressed for the mess this Saturday, June 29th from 10 am to 12 noon. We hope your kids have a blast making and decorating mud pies, muffins, and more in the mud kitchen, painting with mud, building with mud, wallowing, splashing, slipping and sliding, and more!

This is NOT a drop off program. All kids must be supervised by adult caregivers who remain in attendance. Parents, you might want to bring a camp chair if you'd like to sit down while the kiddos play. But please do keep any chairs you bring on the outskirts of the play space to allow for maximal muddy fun!

We'll have a clean-up station with hoses and kiddie pools, but you might just want to bring a change of clothes for your mud loving kiddos!

06/25/2024

Thanks to FOX 26 Houston's Chelsea Edwards for bringing awareness to the Center, to Russ Pitman Park, and to the programs we offer here during the summer (and year-round) for children, families, and adults! If you'd like to help broaden our audience too, sharing this video is a great way to give friends and family an introduction to us.

A local park is fostering community love for nature with family programs. Fox 26’s Chelsea Edwards is live at the Nature Discovery Center to share what they have planned for this summer.

06/19/2024

This gorgeous little three-toed box turtle visited the kids at summer science camp last week. This is the most common species of land turtle in the Houston area. Drop by the nature Center sometime soon and see if you can find wandering box turtles out along the trails. Photos by Eric Duran.

06/18/2024

We've still got a few spots open in our July 22 to 26 and July 29 - August 2 Consider Conservation themed camps for 5 to 10 year olds! In this camp, campers will specifically explore nature, ecology, and wildlife in the context of nature conservation. Each day will be packed with different conservation skills and techniques used when protecting wildlife and maintaining and restoring their natural habitats. And along the way campers will also learn what they can do to make a difference. Register online and send the kids to camp each day for hands-on exposure to live animals and natural history specimens, fun games, creative crafts, and nature hikes filled with opportunities to make discoveries. They'll find lots of ways to get their wiggles out while soaking up plenty of nature knowledge while you work, shop, run errands, or just take a well deserved nap! Register at https://naturediscoverycenter.org/.../summer-science-camps/

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06/15/2024

On National Nature Photography Day, we invite you to enjoy these photos from our Office Manager and Park Steward, Pam Dunker. We hope you find some wildlife to capture "on film" today!

06/12/2024

You may have noticed these furry little cream colored caterpillars everywhere, or you might've noticed the large webs that they make in the trees nearby. This is the fall webworm, and they don't just come out in fall, they're everywhere right now. This really has been quite a boom year for caterpillars! These prodigious moth caterpillars will eat almost anything, they have a very broad diet. Don't worry, though, they're not venomous or poisonous. They may be a little annoying, if you're trying to enjoy a picnic in the park, getting all over your blanket, but it's just part of nature. Photographs by Eric Duran.

06/12/2024

06/12/2024

It's time for a Park Play Day! Celebrate International Mud Day with us in our Nature Play Area at the south end of Russ Pitman Park. International Mud Day is celebrated year round on June 29th. Our celebration will take place that day from 10am to noon. Make mud pies, wallow in mud pits, paint with mud and more! Dress for a MUDLICIOUS MESS and plan to hose down before you go home. This is a FREE community event intended for families. This is NOT a drop-off event. All children must be supervised at all times by their adult caregivers.

06/06/2024

Native milkweed isn't just great for monarch butterflies, there is also a whole host of native insects that depend on milkweed as well. This swamp milkweed leaf beetle is enjoying the succulent, and poisonous, leaves of aquatic milkweed. Our native milkweeds, which you might find at local native plant nurseries and Local nature centers, also host, Longhorn beetles, milkweed bugs, milkweed assassin bugs, queen butterflies, and many more native insects. Photos by Eric Duran.

12/06/2023

Our head naturalist Eric Duran was recently on Channel 13 News talking about mushrooms!

If you've noticed a lot of mushrooms around your neighborhood lately, there's a reason for it - and it has to do with the weather.

12/06/2023

We'd like to thank everyone who came out to our Annual NDC Member Meeting and Holiday Gathering at the Center last night! I took pictures and can share them later, but my phone is dead and I came in to work without my charger. 🤦‍♀️

Those in attendance voted on incoming NDC Board Members: Kristen Berry, Rosemary Confer, Henning Buchholz, David Murphy, and Meredith Symonds as well as on the slate of incoming officers: President – Jayne Johnston set to replace Spencer Curry, Vice President – Peter Cook set to replace Jayne Johnston, Treasurer – Wesley Page set to replace Alexi Poulos, and Secretary – Deb Neubek set to replace Caroline Quenemoen. We welcome them all to their new roles and are excited about the work we'll do together in the coming year! Executive Director DeAndra Ramsey welcomed our new NDC Education Specialist Starla Lawhon and celebrated her 1 month anniversary (a day early), and honored Maura Denman, Staff Naturalist, Educator, and Media Coordinator for her 20 years at the Center. She also bid farewell to outgoing board member Alexi Poulos who was in attendance and received a gift for his service to the Board.

Development Director Colin O'Neal reported on our community impact in 2023 and spoke of exciting changes coming to the park in 2024! Attendees visited over festive bites and beverages, took peeks at Krosis in our Angelo-McNulty Portnoy Alligator Enclosure, and chatted with Colin and members of the board while reviewing project renderings for our Enchanted Woods Nature Play Campaign.

We truly appreciate all of our members, supporters, volunteers, and neighbors and hope that this end of year event celebrating the Center and our NDC community will continue to grow!

12/04/2023

If you've been to the park in the last two days you might have noticed some ephemeral land art in Shady Glade and in the Deciduous Woodlands. Our Mess Makers dabbled in some "Land Art & Loose Parts" this week. There is/was also a huge leaf pile in the Shady Glade that some of these kids enjoyed immensely after putting all their creative efforts into their art during class. You are more than welcome to play in the leaves! Creating land art is a great way to spend some time in nature and is great practice working on learning shapes and patterns and so much more. We hope you'll be inspired to create some ephemeral land art with your kids!

Our loose parts included:
Pinecones, acorns and acorn tops from 3+ species, ball moss, pressed leaves, sticks, fresh leaves, tree "cookies", hairy fungus, pebbles, river rocks, fresh yaupon berries, pine needles, pine bark, compost, sand, air dry clay, and twine. Some kids used cardboard frames to frame their art and hula hoops to create circles to build their art in from.