Pioneers Park nature Center is a city-owned resource that offers the opportunity for outdoor observation, learning, and fun.
Enroll Online
or call 402-441-7895.
Nature Center programs and events include:
- School hikes to more than 10,000 school children annually
- Nature day camps for ages 3 to 17
- A wide range of public programs for all ages including guided night hikes, scout programs, birding trips, OLLI classes and more.
- Outreach programs
School Programs
A leader in nature exploration and education the Nature Center offers outdoor experiences, as well as programs for the classroom.
The Nature Center offers an engaging selection of hands-on outdoor and outreach experiences for students, designed to enhance the classroom curriculum and support Nebraska Science Standards.
Our trained educators strive to develop awareness, appreciation, and curiosity about our unique Nebraska natural heritage by involving students in programs that are fun, concept oriented, and that allow ample opportunity for personal discovery. Our staff looks forward to sharing the wonders of nature with you and your students both at the Nature Center and in your classroom.
Prairie Immersion
Beginning in the fall of 2008, all Lincoln Public School 4th graders have had the opportunity to spend a full day in a tallgrass prairie. The Prairie Immersion program is a cooperative venture of Lincoln Public School, Pioneers Park Nature Center and Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center.
During Prairie Immersion at the Nature Center, students investigate insect biodiversity, study prairie plants, discuss settler lives while sitting in the Hudson cabin built in 1863, and learn about the importance of bison and plant diversity to the Plains Indians. This experience correlates with both science and social studies curricula, giving a new and meaningful extension to the classroom study of the prairie.
School programming at Pioneers Park Nature Center is supported by the Friends of Pioneers Park Nature Center and the Lower Platte South Natural Resources District.
Excerpts from student journals:
The crickets are squeaking
The prairie is cold
The spiders are crawling
The prairie is quiet
The best place ever
-Student from Calvert
You can hear the bugs talking
Feel the wind in your hair
Tall grass crowded around you.
-Student from Calvert
I look at the grass taller than me. If you sit down the little leaves tickle your back.
-Student from Maxey
Prairie feels like:
Itchy, rough, sticky, a whole new world.
Prairie sounds like:
Cracking leaves and rustling grass
Wind blowing; swishy
A buggy place
One special thing about prairie:
It is quiet and peaceful.
-various students
Nature Center educators can bring a variety of programs to groups of any age. Programing including live animals, hands-on activities, or themed presentations such as the tall grass prairie or herbs. Programs are limited to the Lincoln area. Virtual programs are also available for groups or schools.
Call 402-441-7895 for more information, pricing, or to schedule a program.
Pioneers Park Nature Center is dedicated to providing a place for the public to experience, observe and gain information about the plants and animals of Nebraska. This goal is supported by the land with its varied habitats, exhibits, brochures, informational articles that appear in various publications, and our programs.
Exhibit Animals
The Nature Center cares for a variety of animals. Indoor and outdoor animal exhibits provide the visitor with an up close look at many native Nebraska animals. The raptors on exhibit have all been injured and are non-releasable.
Nature Center Guides and Educator Resources
Virtual Field Trip
Prairie Immersion Series