Indian Creek Nature Center

Mardi Gras Farm to Table Dinner (SOLD OUT)
2025-03-04 18:00 - 20:30 (America/Chicago)
This Farm to Table Dinner is sold out.
Join us March 4th, Fat Tuesday, for a Louisiana inspired Mardi Gras feast. Chef Matt Steigerwald, formerly of Lincoln Café and Wilson’s Ciderhouse, will be serving a multi-course dinner starting with cocktail hour snacks and featuring NOLA inspired cocktails.
Bonus: We’ll be doing a traditional King Cake for dessert and the five lucky attendees who get the classic baby figurine in their cake will be entered into a drawing for a Turducken!

Matt Steigerwald is a seasoned chef who has been crafting savory dishes across kitchens in Eastern Iowa. Matt Stiegerwald has the distinction of being a three-time James Beard Foundation nominee for Best Chef Midwest (2008, 2011 and 2015). Steigerwald was the culinary director at Wilson’s Farm and chef at Wilson’s Cider House in Iowa City and Cumming.
Cocktail hour begins at 6:00 PM. First course served at 7:00 PM.
Menu:
Appetizers (passed):
Wild mushroom dirty rice with roasted eggplant
Cajun cream cheese and pepper jelly rolls
Artichoke deviled eggs with roe
Courses:
Crawfish gumbo shooter
Creole Sea Scallops with smoked oyster remoulade, roots hash,
cane syrup bacon, and spiced pecans
Beef Short Ribs with absinthe parsnip puree, trinity gremolata, pickled radish and andouille jus
King Cake with Mardi Gras soft serve and candied orange
Vegetarian Courses:
roasted tomato gumbo
Creole Tofu “Sea Scallops with caper remoulade, roots hash, and spiced pecans
Roasted Oyster Mushrooms with absinthe parsnip puree, mushroom jus, trinity gremolata, and pickled radish
King Cake with Mardi Gras soft serve and candied orange

It’s Maple Syrupin’ Time!
2025-03-08 12:00 - 13:00, 2025-03-08 13:30 - 14:30, 2025-03-09 12:00 - 13:00, 2025-03-09 13:30 - 14:30, 2025-03-15 12:00 - 13:00, 2025-03-15 13:30 - 14:30, 2025-03-20 12:00 - 13:00, 2025-03-21 12:00 - 13:00 and 2 more dates
Bring the family for a maple syruping experience! Discover how easy it is to tap maple trees and make delicious maple syrup. Use the sugar maker’s tools to tap a tree, visit the Sugar House to learn how sap becomes syrup, and enjoy a taste of ICNC’s real maple syrup. Programs are 60 minutes long and are held completely outdoors (except for extreme cases). Please wear boots and winter clothing. ALL maple syruping programs will meet at the Penningroth Barn (intersection of Otis and Bertram Road).
Fee: $5 per person. Ages 2 and under free.
Pre-registration is required for this program. We cannot accept walk-in participants. Thank you!
Register

Watercolor Class: Clover
2025-03-09 11:30 - 13:30, 2025-03-09 14:00 - 16:00
Let’s paint a lucky clover wreath! This is a beginner level painting class and participants do not need any previous watercolor experience. A template is provided so you can enjoy and focus on the watercolor paint! Bring a positive attitude ready to learn a new skill. Supplies included in class fee: watercolor palette, brush, coldpress 140lb watercolor paper, Peerless Transparent Watercolors sample pack, as well as backing board and transparent sleeve to take finished work home*. Recommended ages: 8-100.
Cost: $40 (supplies included*) OR $32 (bring your own supplies**)
**Please bring your own: palette, brush (round 4, or similar size) and your preferred watercolor paint. You will be provided with 140 lb paper, backing board/transparent sleeve will be included to take finished work home.
Pre-registration is required for this program. We cannot accept walk-in participants
Register

Hike it Baby!
2025-03-10 10:30 - 11:30, 2025-04-07 10:30 - 11:30
Parents and their children from birth to school age are invited to join the Cedar Rapids Hike It Baby chapter for a family-friendly hike at the Nature Center!
Hike It Baby is a national non-profit organization that offers new parents an opportunity to connect and get into nature with their young children. Dress appropriately for the weather, as we will be outdoors for the full hour. Baby carriers and all-terrain strollers are welcome, but strollers are not suitable for all trails. Feel free to pack a lunch to enjoy with the group on the patio afterwards!
Free for Hike It Baby members, $5 per adult for non-members. All children are free. Pre-registration is required.
Register

Preschool Trail Trekkers: Maple Syruping
2025-03-12 10:00 - 11:00, 2025-03-15 10:00 - 11:00
This unique, fun activity can only be experienced in late winter! Listen to Native American legends, tap a tree, and visit the sugarhouse to see how sap is made into delicious maple syrup. The hour ends with a taste of our real maple syrup! For preschoolers with adult. Dress for outdoor activities. Meet at the Penningroth Barn.
Fees: $5 preschooler (ages 3-5), free for ages 2 and under, $5 per adult.
Registration Deadline: 2 days prior to program date
More information: https://indiancreeknaturecenter.org/trail-trekkers/
Register

Full Moon Hike
2025-03-12 19:00 - 20:00
Lace up your snow boots to join a small group of adventurers for a guided night hike. The ICNC prairie and woodland trails will be lit by the light of the full moon, but you’ll also want to bring a flashlight or headlamp, just in case of cloud cover. Night hikers will explore some of our favorite spots on the property. Encounters with wildlife are sure to occur! Hikers should dress for the weather and wear snow boots. Children are welcome, including babies in carriers. (Strollers not recommended). Friendly dogs on leashes are also welcome.
Fee: $5 Members $10 Nonmembers.
Pre-registration is required (and will end 24 hours before the start of the program). We can no longer accept walk in participants.
Register

Bird Banding
2025-03-23 12:00 - 15:00
Join ornithologist Dr. Neil Bernstein at Amazing Space for a special bird banding program. Be our guest and drop in anytime to watch Dr. Bernstein net, band, and release birds from Nature Center property. You’ll get a chance to see the equipment he uses, observe the banding process, and learn about the importance of banding. You’ll also get an up close look at the birds! Children and families are welcome to join in on the fun. Banding is a weather-dependent activity.
All banding, marking, and sampling is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey.
This program is free and open to the public with no registration required; free will donations to the Nature Center are welcome.
Register

Maple Syrup Festival
2025-03-29 08:00 - 12:30, 2025-03-30 08:00 - 12:30
Celebrate nature’s sweetest gift at the 42nd Annual Maple Syrup Festival!
Enjoy a taste of real, handcrafted maple syrup fresh from the tap, and stay for a weekend of family fun. The Maple Syrup Festival features syrup making demonstrations, a look at the action inside the Maple Sugar House, and a delicious pancake and sausage breakfast with real maple syrup handcrafted at the Nature Center.
Fee: Adults: $10 advance; $12 door
Children (4-12): $5 advance; $6 door
Children (3 & under): free
Registration begins: January 2
Registration ends: advance ticket sales end March 28, 2025
Learn More

In-Service Camp: Dinosaur Day
2025-03-31 09:00 - 15:00
Make the most out of your child’s day off school!**
Send them to the “Dinosaur Day” In-Service Camp at ICNC. Students will spend the day learning fun dinosaur facts and playing dino games.
Please send a sack lunch and snack and dress kids for indoor and outdoor play. This program is available for all K-5th grade students, with a maximum of 12 students.
**Please check your school’s calendar to see if this is an in-service day for your child.
9:00 AM-3:00 PM (drop off: 8:45-9AM, pickup: 3-3:15PM)
M $55; NM $75
Pre-registration is required for this program. We cannot accept walk-in participants. Thank you!
Register

Fresh Air After School (April session)
2025-04-01 16:15 - 18:00, 2025-04-02 16:15 - 18:00, 2025-04-03 16:15 - 18:00, 2025-04-08 16:15 - 18:00
Fresh Air After School at Indian Creek Nature Center is a drop-off immersive nature experience. Children will go on learning adventures with experienced ICNC educators. Educators will develop seasonally appropriate themes, but the children will determine the specifics of their time at the Nature Center. Children will spend ample time outdoors exploring and learning at the Nature Center’s 200-acre classroom. Programs will be outdoors in all weather and families should dress their children for the conditions. Indoor alternatives are available if the weather is inclement or dangerous.
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays (Dates: April 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 12, 23, 24)
Drop off / Pick up Times: 3:45-4:15pm and 6:00-6:15pm
$210 Member, $255 Non-Members
Pre-registration required
Register

A Sand County Almanac Lunch and Learn
2025-04-04 12:00 - 13:00
We invite you to read A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold and join us in the Amazing Space auditorium at Indian Creek Nature Center for a discussion focusing on the relevance and Importance of Leopold’s message in our lives. Bring lunch if you like, beverages provided.
Event is free. No registration required.

Watercolor Workshop: Irises
2025-04-06 11:30, 2025-04-06 14:00 - 16:00
Let’s paint this beautiful seasonal flower! This is a beginner level painting class and participants do not need any previous watercolor experience. A template is provided so you can enjoy and focus on the watercolor paint! Bring a positive attitude ready to learn a new skill. Supplies included in class fee: watercolor palette, brush, coldpress 140lb watercolor paper, Peerless Transparent Watercolors sample pack, as well as backing board and transparent sleeve to take finished work home*. Recommended ages: 8-100.
Cost: $40 (supplies included*) OR $32 (bring your own supplies**)
**Please bring your own: palette, brush (round 4, or similar size) and your preferred watercolor paint. You will be provided with 140 lb paper, backing board/transparent sleeve will be included to take finished work home.
Pre-registration is strongly recommended for this program.
Register

Creekside Forest School Open House
2025-04-08 13:00 - 14:00
Join Director of Education, Marcy Fratzke, for a look at Creekside Forest School. Prospective families, interested community members, current or pre-service educators are welcome to attend.
Register
