Kids

Monarch Fest

A Deeper Dive into Monarch Fest

2025 was Indian Creek Nature Center’s 10th annual Monarch Fest, and with over 1600 people, the largest one to date. Having the Iowa Children’s Museum present, caterpillar adoptions, native plant […]

CFS Fundraiser

Support Outdoor Education Before School Starts

2025 Creekside Forest School Fundraiser The preschoolers (ages three to five) at Creekside Forest School (CFS) spend more than 80% of their classroom time outdoors. Spending long stretches of time […]

Co-Teaching with Nature

Educating Champions of Nature

Written by Assistant Preschool Teacher Karyln Senica “I think it means…” her voice trailed off just for a moment to fully take in the question before finishing, “… it means […]

Making Sweet Connections to Nature

Discovering Nature’s Sweetest Gift

Jaymie McGrath loves family fun and won’t let her family miss the maple syruping demonstrations at Indian Creek Nature Center’s Maple Syrup Festival. “We do it with our girls.” Jaymie […]

Why Burn A Prairie

Why Burn a Prairie

On a cool spring day, the preschoolers at Creekside Forest School noticed part of the Stimple Prairie, which held their beloved labyrinth, looked different. The tall grasses were gone and […]

Creekside Forest School: Our Core Beliefs

By Director of Education Kelli Kennon-Lane   Like all Iowa preschools, one of our goals at Creekside Forest School is kindergarten readiness. One difference is that our nature-based preschool prepares […]

Sounds of Spring

Chris was the first to hear the chorus frogs singing this week, causing great excitement around here. Today, he caught some the show just off Wood Duck Way. The chorus […]

Gone Fishin’

  What’s new at the Nature Center? Fishing! Yesterday our homeschool students and their families ventured off-property to Lake Murphy (just down the road) to learn about lake ecology… and […]

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