BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//6.6.4.4//EN TZID:America/Kentucky/Louisville X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/Kentucky/Louisville BEGIN:VEVENT UID:26631@lexfun4kids.com DTSTART;TZID=America/Kentucky/Louisville:20250614T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/Kentucky/Louisville:20250614T120000 DTSTAMP:20250610T142000Z URL:https://lexfun4kids.com/events/nature-in-your-neighborhood-special-pro gram-2025-06-14/ SUMMARY:Nature in Your Neighborhood Special Program DESCRIPTION:This program brings free\, family-friendly fun to parks across the city! Beginning on June 3 and continuing on weekdays until Aug. 9\, th ese activities offer a range of experiences that focus on connecting with nature and learning about our environment. Together\, we'll create art wit h natural pigments\, enjoy storytelling sessions\, discover local plants a nd wildlife\, and more!\nTime: 10 a.m. – noon\, Tuesday – Saturday\nR ecommended Ages: These events are designed to accommodate a wide age rang e and are suitable for children from K-12th grade. Adults are also welcome !\n\nCircle of Life - Weeks 1 &\; 6\nExperience the interconnected wond ers of nature where wildlife\, birds\, and fungi reveal their secrets thro ugh engaging\, hands-on adventures!\n\n\n June 3 | Amazing Animals at C harles Young Park\n June 4 | Birds of a Feather at Castlewood Park\n J une 5 | Fungi Foray: A Park Exploration at Oakwood Park\n June 6 | Amp hibia! at Gardenside Park\n June 7 | Rainbows &\; Magical Creatures at Douglass Park\n July 8 | Birds of a Feather at Valley Park\n July 9 | Fungi Foray: A Park Exploration at Dogwood Park\n July 10 | Amphib ia! at Gainesway Park\n July 11 | Rainbows &\; Magical Creatures at  Charles Young Park\n July 12 | Amazing Animals at Kenwick Park\n\nAma zing Animals – Meet some neat creatures living in the park and learn a bout their habitats\, life cycles\, and survival strategies!\nBirds of a F eather – Stop. Listen. Look\, a bird! Join us as we learn their calls\ , seek them out\, and craft our very own binoculars to take home.\nFungi F oray: A Park Exploration – Uncover the hidden world of fungi\, marvel at the diversity of mushrooms and lichen\, and learn how humans cultivate these fascinating organisms!\nAmphibia! – Frogs\, toads\, salamanders\, newts! Come learn about their development cycles\, leap like a frog\, and experience the wonderful world of amphibians.\nRainbows &\; Magical Cr eatures – Have you ever wondered how rainbows form in the sky? Let’s make our very own spectroscopes to observe the science behind rainbows an d solve this mystery! We’ll also meet narwhals\, nymphs\, axolotls\, and other dazzling creatures\, real and imagined\, who’ll help us understan d the wild ways light and color appear across nature’s spectrum.\n\nGard en Guild - Weeks 2 &\; 7\nFollow the journey of your food from seed to table! Come get your hands dirty as we dig into the summer season and lear n how to plant a garden that benefits both you and the environment.\n\n\n June 10 | Seed Savvy at Coolavin Park\n June 11 | Pollinators &\; Other Bug Friends at Duncan Park\n June 12 | Worms at Work at Gaineswa y Park\n June 13 | Strong as a Tree at Valley Park\n June 14 | Food F or Thought at Kenwick Park\n July 15 | Seed Savvy at Northeastern Park \n July 16 | Worms at Work at Castlewood Park\n July 17 | Strong as a Tree at Duncan Park\n July 18 | Food For Thought at Gardenside Park\n July 19 | Pollinators &\; Other Bug Friends at Douglass Park\n\nPol linators &\; Other Bug Friends – Craft a bug hotel to provide a hom e for the beneficial insects in your garden while learning about Lexington 's pollinators and other friendly bugs!\nSeed Savvy – Learn how plants grow from tiny seeds! We’ll get to know their shapes and sizes\, build our plant vocabulary\, and create fun\, seed-inspired crafts.\nWorms at Wo rk – Transform food scraps into nutrient-rich soil for your garden in this vermicomposting workshop\, and take home your own wormery to observe the process in action!\nStrong as a Tree – Let’s learn what helps tre es stand tall\, from their roots to their branches\, and how they live thr ough storms and change. We’ll honor their strength by making a nature-ba sed craft using fallen wood and sticks.\nFood For Thought – Come learn how flowers transform into the foods we eat! Along the way\, we’ll build our understanding of botany through hands-on observation and a few famili ar snacks.\n\nEarth Lab - Weeks 3 &\; 8\nEmbrace your inner scientist a s we experiment with solar power\, unearth Lexington’s geological myster ies\, and more! Get hands-on experience with scientific tools and leave wi th a deeper understanding of the unique environment around us.\n\n\n June 17 | A Drop of Water at Gardenside Park\n June 18 | Magnets &\; Mi gration at Marlboro Park\n June 19 | No programming for Juneteenth cit y holiday\n June 20 | The Power of the Sun: Solar Snacks at Castlewood Park\n June 21 | Caves\, Rocks &\; Fossils at Northeastern Park\n J uly 22 | Magnets &\; Migration at Oakwood Park\n July 23 | The Powe r of the Sun: Solar Snacks at Southland Park\n July 24 | When Water Flo ats at Coolavin Park\n July 25 | Caves\, Rocks &\; Fossils at Maste rson Hills Park\n July 26 | A Drop Of Water at Valley Park\n\nA Drop of Water – Water is essential to living in a healthy ecosystem. Join us as we investigate the waters in the park\, and learn-by-playing about main taining fish populations.\nMagnets &\; Migration – Let’s go on a treasure hunt through the park to learn about compasses and strengthen our navigation skills. Along the way\, we’ll observe how magnets work and h ow animals sense Earth’s magnetic field to find their way across great d istances.\nThe Power of the Sun: Solar Snacks – Let’s learn how to h arness the sun’s power to cook up a tasty treat in our very own solar ov ens! We’ll observe how sunlight becomes energy for cooking\, growing\, a nd everyday life.\nWhen Water Floats – Join us as we learn how clouds f orm in the sky and where they go. We’ll observe how water vapor creates the airiness of clouds\, the sweat on our cups\, the ‘smoke’ in the mo untains\, fog on a cold morning\, and more.\nCaves\, Rocks &\; Fossils  – Unearth Kentucky’s geological mysteries as we take a closer look a t different kinds of rocks\, learn how they change over time in the rock c ycle\, and find out how fossils and caves form over time.\n\nNature Crafts Weeks 4 &\; 9\nLet nature be your muse as we paint with foraged pigmen ts\, mold our own clay\, and transform upcycled materials into beautiful w orks of art! Connect with Lexington through artistic expression\, and take home unique creations that showcase your creativity.\n\n\n June 24 | Ea rthbenders at Charles Young Park\n June 25 | Park Palette at Southland Park\n June 26 | Trash to Treasure at Douglass Park\n June 27 | Grow n Fashion at Duncan Park\n June 28 | Wild Playdough at Oakwood Park\n July 29 | Park Palette at Meadowthorpe Park\n July 30 | Trash to Trea sure at Gainesway Park\n July 31 | Grown Fashion at Kenwick Park\n Au g. 1 | Wild Playdough at Marlboro Park\n Aug. 2 | Earthbenders at Nor theastern Park\n\nEarthbenders – Learn how to process ordinary dirt in to extraordinary pottery\, and much more! In this hands-on workshop\, we ’ll see how people around the world use earth to build not just pots\, b ut entire houses. From adobe to cob\, we’ll learn about the natural buil ding methods that have been used for thousands of years to create strong\, beautiful\, and lasting homes that are better for the planet.\nPark Palet te – The natural world is full of color\, texture\, and inspiration\, if you know where to look. Learn how to make art from the colors you find in rocks\, plants\, and soil!\nTrash to Treasure – Refuse\, reduce\, r euse\, repurpose\, and upcycle! ♻️ Give dumpster-bound items new life as we get creative with old clothes\, plastic bags\, newspaper\, and more through hands-on reimagining.\nGrown Fashion – Create your own doll or figurine\, then design outfits for them using leaves\, flowers\, and other natural materials we gather in the park!\nWild Playdough – Join us as we mix up our own playdough\, then use sticks\, leaves\, seeds\, and other bits of nature to sculpt fun animal creations!\n\nPeople and Parks - Week s 5 &\; 10\nJoin us on a walk through the park as we learn how to be go od stewards to all of its inhabitants\, from the towering trees to the fra grant flowers\, chirping birds\, crawling critters\, and each other.\n\n\n July 1 | Once Upon a Park at Meadowthorpe Park\n July 2 | Tree Hugge rs at Coolavin Park\n July 3 | Little Worlds at Marlboro Park\n July 4 | No programming for Fourth of July city holiday\n July 5 | Stone So up at Woodland Park\n Aug. 5 | Tree Huggers at Dogwood Park\n Aug. 6  | Little Worlds at Charles Young Park\n Aug. 7 | Stone Soup at Dunca n Park\n Aug. 8 | Once Upon a Park at Woodland Park\n\nOnce Upon a Park  – Come take a stroll through the park to hear some local folklore and learn how to create your own nature stories!\nTree Huggers – Spend ti me with the trees of Lexington as we learn about their beauty\, importance \, and the ways we’re connected. Through fun\, hands-on activities\, we ’ll build relationships with these pillars of natural world and deepen o ur care for the land we share.\nLittle Worlds – Create a miniature ver sion of your local park using recycled and natural materials to capture th e magic of its many little worlds. As we build\, we’ll learn how parks a re full of habitats and microhabitats - places where animals\, insects\, a nd plants live and thrive. From leaf piles to puddles\, we’ll notice the small spaces that support life and imagine how to care for them in both r eal life and in our models.\nStone Soup – Inspired by the classic folkt ale Stone Soup\, this hands-on program centers on food\, community\, and c are. Together\, we'll learn how we can build a more just and nourished wor ld for the kids of today and tomorrow.\n\nSpecial Events\n\n\n\n Saturday \, June 28\, 7 – 9:30 p.m. | Light Up the Night! at Jacobson Park Pla yground\n Saturday\, July 19\, 7 – 9 p.m. | Animals at Night at Jacob son Park Playground\n\nAnimals at Night – Bats\, owls\, moths\, &\; more! Spend the evening with us learning about how animals live and thriv e under the cloak of darkness.\nLight Up the Night! – How do lightning bugs glow in the dark? Come learn about bioluminescence\, the natural lig ht produced by organisms\, and marvel at its wonders firsthand at Jacobson Park.\n\nNature in Your Neighborhood End-of-Summer Party\n\n\nJoin us in celebrating the fourth year of Nature In Your Neighborhood! We've loved le arning\, playing\, and growing with you this summer. Come out to enjoy gam es\, crafts\, snacks\, music\, prizes\, and more! All ages are welcome.\nA ugust 9\, 2025\n10 a.m. – 1 p.m.\nDunbar Community Center\n\n\n\n\n CATEGORIES:Age Range,Display Image,Elementary,Free,Lex Fun 4 Kids Listing Type,Outdoor Activity,Parents,Preschoolers,Sponsored Events,STEM,Teens,Toddlers END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Kentucky/Louisville X-LIC-LOCATION:America/Kentucky/Louisville BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20250309T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR