Summer Hours: Monday – Saturday, 10 AM – 5 PM

FREE admission

Calling all nature lovers! Plan your visit to the Highlands Nature Center to meet live animals, explore our natural history exhibits, and stroll through the adjacent Highlands Botanical Garden. There’s something for all ages and interests.

FREE admission

Wednesday Garden Tours are geared toward adults. All other daily programs are family-friendly!

FREE, no registration necessary

Wednesday Garden Tours are geared toward adults. All other daily programs are family-friendly!

June 13 (Register HERE)  |  June 22  |  July 3  |  July 12  |  July 25  |  August 2

8 – 9:30 AM  |  FREE

Limited spaces, registration required  |  Registration will open 1 week before the program date & will close at noon the day before the program

Please note, banding days may be rescheduled under 24 hours in advance due to severe weather. We will contact you via email & phone if this happens.

Join the Highlands Nature Center to see bird research in action!  This summer, the Blue Ridge Bird Observatory is mist-netting and banding birds here at the Highlands Biological Station. By studying our local feathered friends, we can learn more about the health of bird populations on a continent-wide scale – also known as the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) program. We will explore the importance of projects like MAPS, shadow banders as they make their rounds, and have a chance to see some birds up close and personal.

We will be outside at the Valentine Meadow Pavilion (888 Horse Cove Rd) for the entirety of the program, so please dress appropriately. Children are welcome but must be supervised by an adult. There is no strict requirement to stay for the entire program – you may leave whenever suits your schedule. We want everyone to get the most out of their time here.

This research is funded by the Highlands Biological Foundation.

Tuesday, June 7th  |  9 – 10  PM  (Register HERE; registration opens Monday, May 29)

Limited spaces  |  FREE admission, donations appreciated

Discover the nocturnal mammals who take to the skies! Learn about the fascinating world of bats, then join naturalists in the Botanical Garden to seek them out. Please bring a flashlight for this adventure! This program is weather-dependent.

This program is open to the public.

Click HERE to see our full Nature Center Nights program lineup.

June 12  |  June 19  |  June 26

10:30 AM

Highlands Nature Center

FREE  |  No registration necessary

Join local storyteller Ms. KK at the Highlands Nature Center as she reads fun books and sings silly songs all about the great outdoors. After the StoryTime fun, Ms. KK will take you on an interactive adventure walk! This program is geared towards elementary-aged children, but all nature explorers are welcome. New Nature Themes each week (such as): Cute Critters, Buggin’ Out, Frogs & Reptiles Oh My!, Going Camping, and More!

About Ms. KK:
A beloved storyteller, Ms. KK always puts her heart, energy, and infectious personality into every performance. Her enthusiasm and overall love of books is contagious. Ms. KK believes that when you open a book it opens up a world with endless possibilities. Whether she is performing virtually or in person, Ms. KK will make sure everyone has fun! Honestly, if I can make a child smile it makes my whole heart shine. Ms. KK taps into her former acting, improv, and voice-over skills as well as my years as a storyteller on YouTube and in Public libraries, to make every performance full of fun and joy!

Tuesday, June 13th |  9 – 10 PM  (Register HERE)

Wednesday, June 14th  |  9 – 10 PM (Register HERE)

Limited spaces  |  FREE admission, donations appreciated

Experience the world of our smallest nocturnal creatures—insects! Learn to identify unique and beautiful insects then join naturalists to look for fireflies and nocturnal creepy crawlies in the Botanical Garden. Please bring a flashlight for this adventure! This program is weather-dependent.

This program is open to the public.

Click HERE to see our full Nature Center Nights program lineup.

Thursdays at 6 PM  |  June 15 – August 10

Highlands Nature Center

FREE  |  No registration necessary  |  Reception to follow

HBF’s 2023 Zahner Conservation Lectures are just around the corner! Join us this summer as we commemorate the late Dr. Robert Zahner’s 100th birthday. Lectures will be held in-person at the Highlands Nature Center and will feature speakers covering a wide range of topics such as microplastics, geology, birds, sounds in nature, & more.

Click HERE to see our full Zahner Lecture series lineup.

Saturday, June 24th at the Highlands Nature Center (930 Horse Cove Road)

FREE  |  Registration required for adult reading/walk

Join Highlands Nature Center & Spriggly’s Beescaping for a day all about our native bees!

Program Schedule:

10:30 – 11 AM:  A reading of ‘Finding Home’ + a short presentation about native pollinators  |  Family-friendly  |  No registration required

12:30 – 1:30 PM:  Join author Brannen Basham as he takes you on an in-depth experience featuring some of the fascinating North American plants and animals found at the Nature Center, along with a reading from his book ‘A Guide to the Wonderful World Around Us’   |  Adult-oriented  |  Registration required for this program HERE (registration opens June 3)

2:30 – 3 PM:  A reading of ‘Finding Home’ + a short presentation about native pollinators  |  Family-friendly  |  No registration required

Bee tube rolling and coloring activities will be available in between the reading events!

Sunday, July 16th at the Highlands Nature Center (930 Horse Cove Road)

FREE  |  No registration necessary  |  Family-friendly

Screening 1:  2:00 to 2:45 PM

Screening 2:  3:30 to 4:15 PM 

The Orianne Society has determined one apex predator to be of vital importance to the Appalachian region, yet it is facing tremendous challenges towards its conservation. It is an animal that we have felt threatened by, and have demonized for centuries, compromising our own capacity for understanding them. This animal is the Timber Rattlesnake.

Get ready to embark on a journey into the heart of the Appalachian wilderness. Produced by The Orianne Society,  “RATTLED: Conserving Rattlesnakes in Appalachia” will be premiering at the Highlands Nature Center on World Snake Day, July 16th, at 2 pm and 3:30 pm. After each show, stay to meet their educational animals, learn how to stay safe in snake country, and have all your snake questions answered by venomous snake expert and CEO of The Orianne Society, Dr. Chris Jenkins.

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The Orianne Society is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of reptiles, amphibians, and the ecosystems they inhabit through inventory, monitoring, land protection and management, on-the-ground conservation action, and education. One of our primary goals within education is increasing the public’s knowledge about snakes and decreasing fear and persecution.  Learn more at www.orianne.org.