Sugar Grove Nature Center

Winter Wilderness Camp is a 1-day drop-off camp. Participants will spend the day exploring Sugar Grove Nature Center and learning about what happens in Funks Grove during this frosty season. There will be games, crafts, and nature play in Imagination Grove. Participants will enjoy a lunch of hot dogs cooked over the fire, chicken noodle […]

Winter Wilderness Camp is a 1-day drop-off camp. Participants will spend the day exploring Sugar Grove Nature Center and learning about what happens in Funks Grove during this frosty season. There will be games, crafts, and nature play in Imagination Grove. Participants will enjoy a lunch of hot dogs cooked over the fire, chicken noodle […]

Sugar Grove homeschool programs offer educational fun to a homeschool curriculum. These drop-off programs consist of hands-on learning experiences. Students will learn, explore, and investigate each topic through a variety of fun activities, craft projects, and games. Cost is $15 per child for members and $20 per child for non-members. Advance registration is required; click […]

Sugar Grove homeschool programs offer educational fun to a homeschool curriculum. These drop-off programs consist of hands-on learning experiences. Students will learn, explore, and investigate each topic through a variety of fun activities, craft projects, and games. Cost is $15 per child for members and $20 per child for non-members. Advance registration is required; click […]

The Sugar Grove Nature Center programs consist of hands-on learning experiences. Students will learn, explore and investigate each topic through a variety of activities, craft projects and games. Kids ages 3-5 with an adult chaperone are invited to discover the wonders of nature in these hands-on, interactive classes which include stories, snacks, and crafts. Class […]

The Sugar Grove Nature Center drop-off programs consist of hands-on learning experiences. Students will learn, explore and investigate each topic through a variety of activities, craft projects and games. Class costs $15 for kids of Sugar Grove Nature Center members or $20 for non-members. Click here to register online. Event codes ccfk ccel

The Sugar Grove Nature Center drop-off programs consist of hands-on learning experiences. Students will learn, explore and investigate each topic through a variety of activities, craft projects and games. Class costs $15 for kids of Sugar Grove Nature Center members or $20 for non-members. Click here to register online. Event codes ccfk ccel

There will be fun for the whole family, including: our famous pumpkin patch, pumpkin salon, and pumpkin bowling; scarecrow factory, historical reenactments, music, food, buckskinners, daytime astronomy, blacksmiths, kids activities, Sugar Grove Safari, and more. Admission is $5/person (cash or check only). Some activities do have an additional charge. Children aged two and under admitted […]

This event is a drop-off program designed to add some educational fun to homeschool curricula. The event will consist of hands-on learning experiences in which students will learn, explore, and investigate the topic through a variety of fun activities, craft projects and games. Cost is $15 per child for members and $20 per child for […]

This event is a drop-off program designed to add some educational fun to homeschool curricula. The event will consist of hands-on learning experiences in which students will learn, explore, and investigate the topic through a variety of fun activities, craft projects and games. Cost is $15 per child for members and $20 per child for […]

Nature Trails Day is a free, outdoor event featuring volunteers from the University of Illinois Extension Master Naturalist program. Local community groups organize and sponsor the event as a day of outdoor fun for their communities. Some of the scheduled activities include a kids’ fun run, live animal presentations, blacksmithing, woodturning, and science demonstrations, booths […]

The celebration will feature several events related to hummingbirds and pollination: Hummingbird Banding Hummingbird Seminars Honeybee Activities and Honey Tasting Garden Tours & Pollinator Education Wood-fired Pizza Food Truck Fun Activities for all ages! A donation of $5/person or $20/family is suggested. Event codes ccsoc ccff ccnat ccae

This event will feature free art activities and nature activities, community organization booths providing information on their services, music, the blacksmiths, face painting, henna designs, Imagination Grove fun, food and more. In addition, there will be art available for purchase. Admission to the event is free. Event codes ccaca ccfce ccff ccfre

In this 3-hour workshop, beekeeper Patti Koranda will discuss life cycles of bees and the habitats necessary for their survival. Attendees will see Sugar Grove's Habitat Stack and the honeybee hives that Patti cares for at Sugar Grove Nature Center. Participants will make a native bee house to take home, along with instructions to keep […]

Attendees of this interactive workshop will create their own terrariums. Participants will learn about the different types of terrariums and the care that they require (which isn’t much) and have the choice to make an open terrarium, closed terrarium or air plant vessel. All materials, plants and multiple container options will be provided, but anyone […]

Participants will explore the art of nature photography with John Tobias and learn to use the features of their cameras while creating photographs of the natural world. Attendees should bring a digital camera with fully charged batteries (or extra batteries) and a memory card that can hold up to 100 images. No cell phone cameras, […]

Participants will hit the trails for a discovery walk, play in Imagination Grove and explore in the Visitor Center. Attendees should bring a packed lunch, a full set of extra clothes (including socks & underwear), and sturdy shoes for playing in the creek. An afternoon popsicle snack will be provided. Pre-registration is required; click here […]

This program covers some of the sounds explorers may encounter while hiking at the Nature Center, and then moves into a listening session to find out what’s really out there. The program will be held outdoors in a woodsy setting. For the safety of participants, attendees should wear outdoor shoes and appropriate clothing for walking […]

This workshop will cover techniques using graphite and colored pencils and to eliminate “production anxiety” and increase creativity. In addition to renewed enthusiasm for observing, exploring, sketching and writing, attendees will take home art supplies from the class. This workshop is limited to 12 people. Cost is $30 for members, $35 for non-members. Click here […]

Instructor Chris Evans, forestry extension & research specialist with the University of Illinois Extension, will lead this hands-on, outdoor field training. Participants will receive training in the safe use of chainsaws and selecting and using safety gear. Everyone will have an opportunity to practice proper technique using saws on small to medium trees under the […]

As part of the Wild Wednesdays in the Woods series, local ceramic artist and educator Claire Hedden will lead participants in creating a ceramic wallkeep. Attendees will hand-build a wall hanging display with red earthenware clay to display collections and mementos while bringing a little bit of the outdoors into the home. Wallkeeps will be […]

This class is designed for individual 15 years of age or older and who work or volunteer in the outdoors. This training will focus on best practices in response, steps, and treatment of injuries and illness when help is delayed. Rich Harden and Gabrielle Martin, certified Wilderness First Aid Instructors with more than 20 years […]