Public Events & Programs

Enjoy nature with us!

Event Spotlights

Make ART in Chisholm Creek Park and celebrate nature with other artists and guests. We can't wait to see your creative process bloom! Art on the Trail offers a unique opportunity for individuals to interpret their surroundings with an array of mediums. This unique, 21 and up event is designed for artists of any ability using their choice of work to interpret the beauty of the Great Plains. You'll join in with other artists and line the trail as guests enjoy the outdoors under the golden-hour sun. Visitors will watch you work and listen to local music accompanying the sounds of nature. This evening paints the perfect picture of the natural world meeting your imagination.
 
  • Saturday October 14, 2023 from 4PM to 7PM Make Art + Grab a Glass of Wine + Inspire Our Community!
  • Cost: $12 for Artist Registration Includes complimentary pizza + one free drink ticket from Grace Hill Winery and a Twelve-Month Individual Membership to the Friends of the Great Plains Nature Center

Upcoming Events at the Great Plains Nature Center

september,2023

Type

Club

Bob Gress Wildlife Observatory

During summer months, peek in on our demonstration honeybee hive. Watch the workers fill the space with wax and honey, and follow their travels out the tunnel into the park.

Coleman Auditorium

The Coleman Auditorium seats nearly 200 people and is suitable for programs, meetings and seminars relating to wildlife and the outdoors.

Completion of the Coleman Auditorium was made possible by a generous donation from The Coleman Company.

Koch Habitat Hall

is the centerpiece of the Great Plains Nature Center. The 3,500 square feet of displays within it were completed during the summer of 2000, with our GRAND OPENING on Labor Day Weekend, September 1. A generous grant from the Fred C. and Mary R. Koch Foundation allowed us to finish this part of the nature center. The Roybal Corporation was the general contractor for the exhibit hall.

Koch Habitat Hall features include...

  • Prairies, Wetlands & Rivers, Woodlands exhibits
  • The climate of the Great Plains and the effects of European settlement
  • Hands-on area for interactive learning
  • 2,200-gallon aquarium, featuring local sport fishes
  • Bob Gress Wildlife Observatory
  • Rotating live animal exhibits

The beautiful murals adorning the exhibits are the Handiwork of John Lencicki and Kent Pendleton.