Weekend Events, April 22-24, 2016

Earth Day weekend is jam-packed with great family-friendly outdoor events all over Georgia! Plus, the full moon lights up some cool nighttime options. With so much going on, let’s jump right into our list of ways to celebrate Earth Day, go exploring, play in the moonlight, muck around in a swamp, and get creative!

Celebrate Earth Day

Go Exploring

Play by the Light of the Moon

  • Full Moon Suspension Bridge Hike, Tallulah Gorge State Park: Enjoy a 1 mile hike that takes you down the stairs, across the suspension bridge and on the rim of the gorge under the full moon.
  • Full Moon Walk, Phinizy Swamp Nature Park: From the serenade of tree frogs to the soothing calls of Barred Owls, the sounds of the Swamp come alive at night! Join us as we celebrate a walk in the light of a full moon by taking you on a guided, leisurely hike through the Nature Park trails.
  • Earth Day Full Moon Paddle, F.D. Roosevelt State Park: Paddle a canoe or kayak on Lake Delanor with staff guides. This full moon adventure is geared towards ages 10 and up.
  • Full Moon Paddle, Kolomoki Mounds Historic Park: Join us on Lake Kolomoki for a full moon paddle with a kayak or canoe. Use a park boat or bring your own.
  • Moonlight Mountain Hike, Panola Mountain State Park: Join us for a ranger-led hike up Panola Mountain to enjoy the sunset over Atlanta. The moonlight will guide us down to a lakeside campfire where we’ll enjoy s’mores! Bring flashlights, bug spray, hiking boots and water. Ages 10 and up.

Muck around in a Swamp

  • Swamp Saturday Hikes
  • Swamper’s Guide to the Galaxy, Stephen C. Foster State Park:  We will discuss topics that have to do with astronomy as well as observing the night sky through high powered telescopes. Stephen C. Foster State Park is one of the darkest places in the Southeast due to a lack of light pollution in the Okefenokee Swamp. Come out and see stargazing at its best.

Get Creative

 

Weekend Lookback

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Well, we did not manage to get a weekend roundup put together for last week, but that’s because we were so busy putting together an article for Atlanta Parent instead on places to climb and play in the trees! Look for it in the upcoming May issue – we are really excited about it, and it’s filled with tons of cool options. Turns out, there’s a whole set of proven mental and physical benefits that come from hanging out in the woods (no surprise, there)… the Japanese even have a term for taking in the healing power of nature: “Shirin-yoku” (which literally translates as “forest-bathing.”)

So check out the article when it comes out, and as a follow up we may profile a few other options as we have a chance to try them (first I have to talk the family into some canopy camping). You can also search our Events page for some upcoming tree-related programs, or any time you want ideas for a new adventure.

Weekend Events, April 8-10, 2016

Another beautiful weekend to wrap up Spring Break – luckily for Georgia families, there are lots of reasons to get out and enjoy it! Here’s a roundup of outdoor events (free or nominal cost) happening this weekend all over the state:

Saturday has a couple of fun festivals for the whole family to enjoy:

More living history on Friday evening at the Days Gone By program at Stephen C. Foster State Park in the Coastal Region.

Friday afternoon also offers an opportunity to watch the animals being fed at Autrey Mill Nature Preserve in Johns Creek, 4:30-5 p.m.

For a “feeding show” of another kind, check out the ongoing Pitcher Plant Bog Habitat Ranger Guided Tour, happening Monday through Saturday in April, May and June at Gordonia-Altamaha State Park in the MidSouth Region. This is one of the “Hidden Gem” programs offered this year to celebrate the Georgia State Park’s 85th anniversary year.

 

Weekend Events: April 1-3, 2016

Once these storms pass through (stay safe, everyone!), we should be looking at a beautiful weekend … here are some great outdoor family activities to help you enjoy it!

History is in the making at the 18th Century Market Faire at Fort Yargo State Park in Winder, GA. Go back to 1790s Georgia with frontier camps, native warriors, blacksmithing, woodworking, candle making, period dance and music, children’s activities, and more. Children under 12 free. (If you can’t make this one, the Atlanta History Center is having their Sheep to Shawl Festival next weekend…). And remember, you can always search for historical events using the drop-down filters on our Event Filter Bar.

April also kicks off a number of monthly guided hikes at various nature centers. Three to check out:

For more swampy fun, Stephen C. Foster State Park in the Okefenokee Swamp has two great events this weekend: Swamp Archery and another stargazing evening at the Swamper’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Any we’ve missed? Let us know in the Comments section below!

Nature Programs for Homeschoolers

homeschool

Weekends get pretty packed at nature centers and State Park programs, but homeschoolers have some great options that are offered during less-busy weekdays. This post, we will profile some of the homeschool programs that focus on nature, ecology and environmental science. These are sometimes a semester-long program, and others are designed as stand-alone, one-time options. All offer a deep-dive into some fascinating topics with lots of hands-on, active learning opportunities. I’m sure there are enough to warrant a follow-up post (or two!) so please let us know if there’s a great one we missed by using the Comments section below.

You can also use our Event Filter Bar to find homeschool programs by selecting “Homeschool” under the Event Category. You may also be able to find appropriate supplemental programs by searching for categories like “stargazing,” “history,” “science,” “ecology,” or “camp/class” although these may not be aligned to curriculum standards as well as the homeschool programs.

Zoo Atlanta Homeschool Academy

  • Atlanta, GA (Metro Atlanta Region)
  • Classes for Grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12
  • Academic year-long program; classes held monthly.

Cochran Mill Nature Center Home School Days

    • Chattahoochee Hills, GA (Metro Atlanta Region)
    • For students grades K-12; parents required to stay
    • Monthly classes each semester; register in advance for individual classes.

 

Dunwoody Nature Center Home School Programs

Sorry, we missed listing their home school open house, but contact them for information on home school programs.

Autrey Mill Nature Preserve Home School Classes

  • Johns Creek, GA (Metro Atlanta Region)
  • Ages 6-11 / Grades 1-5
  • Stand-alone programs, held one Thursday and one Friday each month, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Upcoming topics include Solar Power.

Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center Homeschool Classes

  • Buford, GA (East Metro Atlanta Region)
  • Groups for Elementary, Middle School and High School. Middle and High School programs are laboratory session format, and cover topics like chemistry and forensics.
  • Semester-long format with weekly sessions.
  • Art programs also available.

Elachee Nature Science Center Home School Programs

  • Gainesville, GA (Northeast Georgia Region)
  • Offers Field Trips for Home School Groups, First Wednesday Home School Program for Elementary grades and Junior Master Naturalist Program for Middle and High School.
  • The two Home School Program Series are available as annual or single semester registrations.

Phinizy Center for Water Sciences Homeschool Science Enrichment Program

  • Augusta, GA (East Georgia Region)
  • K-12 grades
  • Semester-long program of five sessions each. Recent theme was Urban Watersheds and Water Quality.

Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center Homeschool Programs

  • Mansfield, GA (Central Georgia Region)
  • 3-7th grades (divided into two groups)
  • Academic year-long Homeschool programs and Homeschool Field Days. Registration opens in August and spaces fill quickly.

Tidelands 4-H Nature Center Homeschool Days

  • Jekyll Island, GA (Coastal Georgia Region)
  • All school-age students
  • Monthly semester-long sessions. Recent topics included Beach Engineer and a CSI-style investigation of beach strandings.

More on other 4-H programs for Home Based Education here.

 

 

 

 

Using our event calendar filter bar

Our statewide outdoor event calendar can get pretty packed (trust me, as the one who enters them all in…). So we’ve upgraded our calendar to include a super-powerful filter bar! Now you can drill down to just the right locations and interests for your family.

Here’s how:

Step 1: If you’re not already there, click on the Events tab in the main menu on GeorgiaKidsOutdoors.com or go to www.georgiakidsoutdoors.com/events.

Step 2: At the top of the page, before the statewide calendar, you’ll see a search bar and below that a filter bar (with the drop down triangle indicators):

FilterBar

Click on those drop-down triangles, and you’ll see a list of choices. For each menu, you can pick more than one. The more specific you are, the less results you will get (which is the goal, but if you’re too picky you risk getting no results!).

Going through the possible filters, you can select by Event Category (which includes things like “Night,” “Science,” “Hiking,” and “Homeschool,”).

The Cost filter will give you the opportunity to select your price range. You may be tempted to stick to “free” but keep in mind that most of the Georgia State Park events will charge a $5 parking fee (per vehicle, not per person), so you will be screening out a ton of options if you select that. And if you didn’t already know, you can check out a Georgia State Park Pass from most (or all?) public libraries, so you could make that free with a little planning and quick trip to the library!

The Region Filter allows you to pick either your home or travel destination area. If you aren’t sure which region you want, check our Regions page to see a list of counties and larger towns.

Venues lets you get really specific, and just see what’s going on at a particular park, nature center, etc. Again, getting too specific may limit your results, but this is handy if you already know where you are headed or are a member of a place and just want to see what they have going on.

Organizers is usually the same as venue, but not always. For example, the Georgia Herpetological (snakes and stuff) Society may do events at various locations, so they would be the organizer. We are also setting all Georgia State Parks events to be under Georgia State Parks as an organizer (bear with us, it’s a big task and still in process).

Day & Time are pretty obvious (we hope!).

What can we do to make this more useful? What events are we missing? Let us know in the Comments section below!

Spring Break Sweepstakes!

Summer Camp 2016

There are so many great summer camps across Georgia that will let your kids experience summer vacation the way it’s supposed to be: outside, with lots of chances to play, get dirty, and explore. Plus, they’ll learn a ton about science and the natural world — and their own abilities. Here is our master list, organized by region. Please click through for more info and to see if it’s the right program for your child.

As a special giveaway for our readers, we have a $50 gift certificate for the TreesAtlanta Junior TreeKeeper Spring Break Camp, April 4-8!

Win a $50 gift Certificate to TreesAtlanta's Junior TreeKeepers Spring Break Camp!
Enter our Spring Break Sweepstakes!

Did we miss a great one? Let us know in the Comments section!

Metro Atlanta

Junior TreeKeeper Day Camps, Trees Atlanta TreeHouse. Use Referral Code Blog_GAkids when you register to be entered in a drawing to receive a free copy of “Last Child in the Woods” by Richard Louv. Winner will be announced August 1, 2016!

Adventure Camp, Arthur M. Blank Family Youth YMCA

Outdoor Adventure Camp, Bransby Outdoor YMCA

Nature Camp, Cochran Mill Nature Center

Camp Kingfisher, Chattahoochee Nature Center

Dunwoody Nature Center

Autrey Mill Nature Preserve

Magnolia Farm Day Camp

North Metro Atlanta

Cane Creek Farm “Farm Camp”

YMCA Camp at Eagle Point

Sawnee Mountain Preserve

South Metro Atlanta

Dauset Trails Nature Center Day Camp

Junior Ranger Day Camp, Panola Mountain State Park

Outdoor Adventure Camp, Panola Mountain State Park

Archery Camp, Panola Mountain State Park

East Metro Atlanta

Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center

Junior Ranger Camp, Fort Yargo State Park

West Metro Atlanta

Cobb County Parks Dept. Nature Camp, Hyde Farm, Marietta, 770-528-8824

Civil War Junior Ranger Camp, Pickett’s Mill Battlefield Historic Site

East Georgia

Sandy Creek Day Camp

UGA Summer Academy (great options for teens!), Athens, GA

State Botanical Garden Day Camps, Milledgeville, GA

Junior Ranger Camp, Fort Yargo State Park

Hard Labor State Park, Junior Ranger Day Camp

Northeast Georgia

4-H Cloverleaf Camp, Wahsega 4-H Camp

4-H Wilderness Challenge Camp, Wahsega 4-H Center

Camp Elachee

YMCA Camp High Harbour, Lake Burton

Northwest Georgia

YMCA Camp High Harbor, Lake Allatoona

Junior Ranger Camp Beginner (Ages 7-9), Red Top Mountain State Park

Junior Ranger Summer Camp, Cloudland Canyon State Park

Summer Day Camp, North Georgia Community YMCA

West Georgia

Junior Ranger Summer Discovery Camp, F.D. Roosevelt State Park

Central Georgia

Day Camp, Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center

ACE (Adventures in Conservation) Overnight Camp

Outdoor Adventure Team Challenge Camp

MidSouth Georgia

Junior Naturalist Camp, Center for Wildlife Education

Outdoor Adventure Camp, General Coffee State Park

Junior Ranger Summer Camp, General Coffee State Park

Heritage Farm Camp, General Coffee State Park

Farm to Table Summer Camp, General Coffee State Park

Southwest Georgia

Summer Day Camp, YMCA of Thomasville

Junior Rangers Camp, Reed Bingham State Park

Camp Reed Bingham

Coastal Georgia

Camp Talon (Teen Adventures Learning Ornithology and Nature)

Cloverleaf Camp, Burton 4-H Center

4-H Junior Camp, Burton 4-H Center

Junior Ranger Camp, Fort McAllister State Park

Oatland Island Wildlife Center Summer Camp

Sea Turtle Summer Camp, Georgia Sea Turtle Center

Summer Day Camp, YMCA of Coastal Georgia

 

 

Weekend Events, March 18-20, 2016

This weekend my daughter and I are going on an adventure to the Len Foote Hike Inn, so look for my recap of that experience early next week. I hope your family can find something to enjoy from the long list of events available this weekend.

Nighttime Events

One of the coolest nighttime events going this weekend (and continuing on for the next few weeks) is the Swamper’s Guide to the Galaxy. Stephen C. Foster State Park is one of the darkest places in the Southeast due to a lack of light pollution in the Okefenokee Swamp. This is an awesome stargazing opportunity that incorporates an astronomy lesson and lets you view the sky through high-powered telescopes.

Also:

Egg Hunts

Hop down the bunny trail to some of the egg hunts and other Easter-themed events starting this weekend (with more to come next weekend).

History

The biggest history event this weekend is the Scottish Heritage Days, held at Fort King George Historic Site in the Coastal Georgia region. This 3-day event celebrates Colonial Georgia’s Scottish roots, and includes lots of cool demos for military buffs (fort tours, weapons demonstrations), including a battle reenactment on Saturday at 2 p.m.

More military history at the program on the “Medicine of War” in the Civil War. If you haven’t already claimed your “Every Kid in a Park” free pass for 4th graders and their families, this is a great way to make use of yours and get access to all federal land and waters free through August 2016.

Friday evening also starts the recurring “Days Gone By” program at Stephen C. Foster State Park, with a half-hour program on early swamp history. This living history program is conducted by a presenter in period costume, who will fire a musket to conclude the talk.

Hamburg Spring Fling is a day-long festival that includes a demonstration of the historic grist mill.

Animal Encounters

In addition to petting the bunnies at the various Egg Hunts, kids can get up close with their favorite types of critters at these events:

Again, you can always use our handy filter bar on our Events page to find just the right events from our many options.

Weekend Events for March 12-13

Springtime’s outdoor event season is heating up! Be sure to check back with our event calendar often to find new events added daily. And use our new search functions to find just the ones that work for your family’s interests and location.

Spring Festival season is also getting started with the Azalea Festival in Valdosta, GA. Look for Macon’s Cherry Blossom Festival to start next weekend, and lots more.

History buffs, Little House on the Prairie fans, and anyone who has ever wanted to throw a tomahawk should check out American Frontier Days at F.D. Roosevelt State Park.

The Chattahoochee Nature Center encourages fairy-lovers to explore through March with their Fairy House Spring Scavenger Hunt. You might also find bald eagles, butterflies, otters, and more, too!

Around the corner, the Dunwoody Nature Center continues their EcoExplorer series for ages 2-5 with a program on Seeds. Nice to find a preschooler program available on weekends for working parents (although they have some weekday ones, too)…

And of course, there are tons of trails with wildflowers beginning to emerge. Sweetwater Creek State Park near downtown Atlanta is a great one for spotting them — or if you’re too busy during the day working on your own garden, reward yourself that evening with a Stargazer hike (ages 12 and up).