A few weeks ago I had the chance to second shoot for the wonderful Stacey Lee Photography. Luckily for me, it was a HOT fall day and I got to explore the Irvine Nature Center with her and her wonderful couple. I had never heard of this place before, and I just knew I had to come back with my kids! I knew my chances for warm weather were starting to dwindle so I took advantage of another beautiful autumn day and took them. I was tempted to just bring Axton, so I could turn it into an epic learning/preschool day but I knew Rhenner would like it too much so he got to come, too.

The Nature Center is a non-profit education center that offers preschool programs, field trips, summer camps, and, how I first found out about it, green weddings. If we lived closer to the Center, and if we weren’t moving….and if we were a little bit richer….then maybe I would consider sending my kids to the nature preschool. It looks like an amazing program but, yes, a little bit out of our monthly budget 😉

Instead, we just enjoyed our (Free!) adventure day exploring all that it has to offer. Indoors, there are tons of Touch exhibits, tanks full of different reptiles and animals, a play area with nature-centered toys and books, and often special demonstrations going on. When we were there, we got to meet a possum. They fed her a HUGE cockroach and she pounced on it and sprayed the guts all over the floor. Axton thought it was disgusting and Rhenner laughed. It was pretty awesome.

Outside there is a giant nature-centered play area, with logs, trees, and dirt being the central ingredients. Tunnels to crawl through, climb on top of, balance on, musical “instruments,” a canoe, a row of rock slates that serve as chalkboards, and a kitchen area.

After we were done playing at the playground, we explored some of the MANY acres of trails. The place is huge and you could spend hours exploring all the different trails!

For my Maryland friends with kids, this is a place NOT to be missed! It’s free entrance, it’s educational, it supports and involves nature, the trails are endless, and it’s beautiful! Trust me, it’s worth the drive.