The Quarry Hill Nature Center is a great place where every member of the family can learn and explore the natural world. There is so much to see and do that you will want to visit many times and see the center in every season.
Interactive Exploration
Exploration Hall is full of items you can hold, feel, and explore. Antlers, fur, and shells are some of the things that visitors can touch. You’ll also see many different taxidermied animals that allow you to observe what these creatures looked like up close. The hall even has a replica of a T-Rex skull.
Live Animal Encounters
At the nature center, you can meet all kinds of native animals. The center is home to a snapping turtle more than 50 years old as well as several varieties of snakes, frogs, and turtles. You can even see an owl and the many aquatic animals in the huge aquarium.
Beehive Observation
The nature center has housed this popular beehive for more than 20 years. Guests can look into the hive and see how the bees interact, live, and create honey. You can see the queen laying her eggs and watch as the workers do their jobs. In warm weather, you may even see them outside collecting pollen for honey.
The beehive offers a wonderful educational opportunity that kids and adults will find intriguing. Visitors are often inspired to find out more about bees when they come home from the nature center.
Bird Study Room
Bird enthusiasts love spending time in the bird room. There you will find 30 mounted, taxidermied songbirds as well as 20 nests and 20 bird eggs. Once you’ve seen all the mounted birds, you can grab a pair of binoculars and study the birds outside the viewing window. Feeders are set up to attract many varieties of birds you can watch and enjoy. You can also hear what the birds are saying to each other through speakers on the feeders.
Some of the birds have bands on their legs. Those are the birds that were banded by the nature center so they could be tracked and studied. If you are interested in seeing and participating in bird bandings, there are times when you can do that too.
Programs
Professional naturalists at the center give programs and offer events at different times throughout the year. You can attend a talk where a naturalist will share information about nature and wildlife, and children can attend fun classes and learn how to make crafts with materials from nature. There are also activities offered that the whole family can enjoy together like going on a night walk through the property to see the creatures that come out after dark.
You won’t want to miss out on the fantastic activities at the Quarry Hill Nature Center where you can learn about the wildlife of Minnesota. See us at Rochester Toyota to explore the many different vehicles you can use to take your family on adventures in nature.
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