February fun at Lake Erie Nature & Science Center

February is chock-full of educational and entertaining activities for all ages to experience at the nonprofit Center in Bay Village.

Preschoolers ages 1-5 will enjoy a chance to celebrate the holidays throughout the month. They’ll learn a little about the special day, meet an animal, make a craft, read a story, and, of course, have FUN! These free-flow programs will allow children (and a special adult) to move at their own pace, make new friends and focus on what they enjoy most. Join us for one or more of the four February holiday programs: Groundhog Day (Feb. 2), Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14), Presidents Day (Feb. 20) and Leap Year (Feb. 29). Each program runs from 10-11:30 a.m. and tickets are on sale now for $5/child.

The next program in the Log Cabin Samplers series for kindergartners flies in on Monday, Feb. 13. Winter Birds are the feathered focus this month as children ages 4-6 become nature detectives – exploring the hiking trails and gardens, encountering live animals and conducting science investigations! Limited tickets are still available for both timeslots: 9-11 a.m. or 1-3 p.m. at $20/child; members $15/child.

Bring the family to Animals a la Mode at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 24. Live animals (and maybe YOU) take center stage in this upbeat, interactive and educational show. The whole family will be captivated as Maggie Watson presents a collection of furry, feathered and scaled creatures. And the fun doesn’t stop there – cap it all off with a serving of delicious ice cream! Tickets are only $5/person and are on sale now.

Another installment of Second Nature, the ongoing series for adults, takes place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 9. Kristin Stanford of the OSU Stone Laboratory will present "Glorifying the Gross: Lessons Learned in the Recovery of the Lake Erie Watersnake." Kristin will discuss her unique perspective as she and her team worked to save this threatened species. With a focus on her outreach and education efforts, she will detail how and why recovery was achieved so rapidly through an intensive proactive conservation campaign. Plus, get a glimpse of Kristin’s appearance on the Discovery Channel’s "Dirty Jobs"! Advance tickets are available now for $7/person and at the door for $10/person.

Everyone can join our Level 3 Junior Naturalists for a "Wild and Free" program on Sunday, Feb. 26 at 3 p.m. They’ll take the spotlight and present a variety of LIVE ANIMALS! Each student will use the knowledge they’ve gained through our Junior Naturalists classes to share their excitement for, and information about, a variety of our resident animals. Drop in for this FREE event and help us to celebrate the culmination of this group’s years of education and training!

All month long, we’ll be meeting the "First Americans in Space" at our Monthly SkyQuest Planetarium Program. We’ll look back at the achievements of our first generation of space explorers, like Ohio’s very own John Glenn, and look forward to planned journeys to Mars and beyond. Program runs every Saturday at 1:30 p.m. and the first and third Saturday nights at 7 p.m. Great for adults and older kids, tickets are available on the day of the program for $3/person. You can also check out our full range of star shows for all ages (including our new range of Sunday shows) at lensc.org.

But that’s not all – a whole new season of exploration blossoms in March! Visit lensc.org and preview the Spring Program Guide for a fresh assortment of activities for all ages like Eggstravaganza, Huntington Hikers Club, Spring Break Day with BAYarts and much more!

The nonprofit Lake Erie Nature & Science Center is open free to the public seven days a week and is located at 28728 Wolf Rd. in Bay Village. Call 440-871-2900 with questions or to purchase tickets for programs listed above.