THRIVE OUTSIDE
At Irvine Nature Center, we believe that learning and playtime go hand-in-hand. Children who spend time exploring their natural world build life-long skills like problem solving, creativity, cooperation, and confidence.
Weekend Nature Programs
Spend your free-time at Irvine learning new skills, meeting animal friends, or heading out on a hike. Our public programs offer a unique way for families to spend quality time together. Check out our upcoming programs and events:
- NEW Animal Art: Learn observational drawing skills with live animals. Multiple dates offered
- Holidays with Hoot- Ideal for all ages – Saturday, December 7
- Pajama Party with Irvine’s Animals- Ideal for ages 8+ – Saturday, December 14
Plus, many more!
Learn MoreDay Off Camps
Your child will love spending their day off from school with Irvine’s award-winning environmental educators for a day of exploration and outdoor fun. Participants will be inspired to explore nature as they are led through a day filled with animal encounters, science experiments, hiking, nature crafts, and more.
NEW for school year 2024-25:
- Enroll in the Day Off Camp series and get 9 camps for the price of 8
- Aftercare available until 6pm (for an additional fee)
- Spring Break Camp – sign up for individual days or the entire week!
Tales & Tails Story Time
Join us every Friday for a FREE story time in nature. Enjoy songs, movement, a story and an animal encounter. This weekly program allows you to build connections with nature and your neighbors in an outdoor learning environment. Come early or stay after to discover Irvine’s trails, meadows, and wetlands with the family. This program is ideal for children 5 and under with an accompanying adult.
Tales & Tails is made possible in part by:
EARTH FRIENDS HOMESCHOOL
Irvine’s fully-immersive homeschool classes are designed to connect children engaged in homeschooling, unschooling, or distance learning with the natural world through hands-on, child-led experiences. Featuring on-trail discovery and experimentation, peer connections, and play-based learning in nature.
Learn MoreLittle Birds - CAREGIVER + CHILD
Little Birds classes give your little one the chance to meet new animal friends, create nature crafts, sing songs, and explore outside. Perfect for parents, grandparents, nannies, and other caregivers who are seeking a unique and meaningful experience. While the seasons change before our eyes, Little Birds nurture their relationships with the natural world and with one another. New for school year 2024-25, Irvine is offering semester-long, single-day, and week-long summer classes.
Learn MoreEco-Explorers Afterschool Club
Irvine’s award-winning after-school program, ECO-EXPLORERS, offers students an alternative way to spend time with friends and learn about the natural world – after the bell rings. Students will enjoy time exploring the great outdoors, creating nature crafts, conducting science experiments, and getting to meet live animal ambassadors from Irvine Nature Center. Eco-Explorers is led by Irvine’s environmental educators, one day per week, at your school.
Learn MoreSummer Nature Camp 2025
Exciting explorations, awesome adventures, and delightful discoveries await your child at Irvine! All Nature Camp programs are designed and led by environmental educators and naturalists who bring their knowledge of science, nature, and animals on each exciting adventure. Offering full day camp for children ages 5-12, half day camps for 3-4 year-olds, a one-of-a-kind “Caregiver and Child” camp for ages 6 months to 3 years, and a Counselor-in Training program for 13-16 year-olds.
Learn More