Meadowside Nature Center
5100 Meadowside Lane
located (in Rock Creek Regional Park)
Rockville, Maryland 20855
301-924-4141
Located in Rock Creek Regional Park, Meadowside Nature Center offers hands-on natural and cultural history programs for families, schools, and scouts. Visitors can spend their time hiking our 8 miles of Nature Trails or visiting our owls, hawks, and American Bald Eagle in our Raptor Aviaries. Inside visitors can explore the diverse habits found in Maryland as they crawl through a cave or look at the world from a fish's point of view in our Legacy of the Land Exhibit. Our Curiosity Corner discovery room contains books, games, puzzles, and more live animals for young naturalists to explore nature in child-friendly environment. Visitors can also experience the lives of the Maryland pioneer and Eastern Woodland Indian families in our Legacy of the People exhibit were they can try on clothes, play games, and touch animal skins.
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 Fall Programs
Click here to register for our Fall Programs.
NOTE: To make registration easier, make note of the course # and register at ParkPASS.
Special Events at Meadowside!
Apple Festival and Campfire
Apple Festival and Campfire
Friday, September 17, 6:00pm-8:00pm
It’s apple harvest time! Visit our pioneer farm and orchard for apple cider pressing,
apple lore, and hands-on activities. We’ll end the evening at our campfire ring
for s’mores
and more. Register and pay for kids; adults are free!
$8 per child (2 & up) - Click here to register!
Halloween Extravaganza
Halloween Extravaganza!
Friday, October 29, 5:30pm-8:00pm
Wear your costume and join the Meadowside staff for a howling night
of family fun at Meadowside’s annual Halloween Extravaganza! We’ll
go on a haunted hike, and make fun Halloween crafts to take home.
Register and pay for kids; adults are free!
$8 per child (ages 3 & up) - Click here to register!
Nature Everywhere
It's new! Nature Everywhere programs "take kids outside for science in the schoolyard."
Nature
notes from Meadowside!
The Blue Birds are Back !
Eastern Bluebirds in this area generally migrate south during the winter months in search of its favorite food, bugs. Though, a few may remain in the northern areas, if they can find an appropriate supply of wild fruit to get them through the winter. Once the warm weather returns, along with the bugs, so do the Bluebirds. The best place for viewing bluebirds at Meadowside Nature Center is along the Pioneer Trail which is lined with multiple nesting boxes.
Date of last update: August 8, 2010
Montgomery County Department of Parks