5100 Meadowside Lane
(in Rock Creek Regional Park)
Rockville, Maryland 20855-1812
301-924-4141
Meadowside Nature Center offers hands-on natural and cultural history programs for families, schools and scouts. Explore our nearly eight miles of trails, visit live owls, hawks and an American Bald Eagle in our Raptor Aviaries. Enjoy hands-on nature puzzles, books, games, puppets, exhibits, and observe live animals including snakes, turtles, frogs and insects in our "Curiosity Corner" room. Experience Pioneer and Native American life in our "Legacy of the People" exhibits, crawl through a cave, or get a fish-eye view of the world in our "Legacy of the Land" exhibit featuring Maryland’s native habitats.
Hours
Tuesday - Saturday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Closed Sundays and Mondays
Trails open: sunrise to sunset
Winter hours (November 1 through March 1): Saturday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Meadowside Nature Center will be closed to the public on:
- Thursday, December 25, 2008 (Christmas Day)
- Thursday, January 1, 2009 (New Year's Day)
During inclement weather, Nature Centers follow Montgomery County Public School closures, delayed openings and early releases. If school is closed due to inclement weather, all children's programs are cancelled. Cancellation of Adult programs is determined on a case-by-case basis. Please call the nature facility to check on adult program status.
Self-guided groups are welcome to tour the Nature Center September through mid-June FREE. There is a $1 per child fee for self-guided groups of 10 or more from mid-June through August. Reservations are required for all groups visiting the nature center.
Featured Winter Programs
Check out our Winter programs!!
NOTE: To make registration easier make note of the course # and register at ParkPASS.
New Cub Scout programs!
Check out our new Cub Scout program offerings! Look under the Badge section above for the new programs. Is there an activity pin or elective you would like to see us offer? Contact us at 301-924-4141 for more information.
Free nature wallpaper
Meadowside Nature Center wallpapers available!
Let us bring the Seasons of Rock Creek Regional Park to you until
you can come and experience them yourself.
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Autumn 2005 |
Butterfly 2006 |
Cardinal in Winter |
Nature notes from Meadowside!
In Fall, animals get ready for winter by eating extra food and storing it as body fat to use for energy while hibernating. Bears are a good example. Other animals such as frogs and turtles bury themselves in mud to hibernate, absorbing the oxygen in the cold water through their skin to breathe. Insects look for winter shelter in holes in the ground, under the bark of trees, deep inside rotting logs or in any small crack they can find. Rabbit and chipmunks sleep underground as a kind of partial hibernation but do come out in the winter if the temperature is not too cold.
Date of last update: Deecember 8, 2008
