What a diamond in the woods (see what I did there?). This place has quickly become a family favorite with our boys old enough to enjoy 4 & 2. The options of what they can do here is plentiful and it's all free. Want to hear more? Good I thought you would. First of all, the staff is great with the kids and want them to have an enjoyable time, so they do this by providing them with endless unique opportunities. What unique opportunities, great question, here are the opportunities provided. You've got the cave (kids get to crawl in a man made cave and escape via a slide). Legacy of the land to the play area in the Legacy of the people (see what life was like and play house from the time before electricity). Curiosity corner (games, books, replies & snakes all in a themed room) or the Raptor Walkway (see the bald eagle Orion, or a hawk, vulture or owl) to the really cool outdoor play area that is not your typical playground, but very nature minded. There are endless programs during the week, you even get a chance to feed the raptors every Saturday. look here: https://www.montgomeryparks.org/parks-and-trails/rock-creek-regional-park/meadowside-nature-center/programs/, this place has so much more than you would ever expect. The boys can't stop talking about going back. read more

This place so such a treasure for kids. We really loved the outdoor play space, the indoor wildlife habitat exhibit complete with cave and slide, and the pioneer exhibit. My kids played for a long time with all the early American toys. I do wish they would keep things like the indoor wildlife exhibit up a bit more. I'm sad the turtle habitat has been abandoned for traditional aquaria. It added a real wow factor to that exhibit that complemented the taxidermy. Still they have some great terraria with reptiles. The bird feeders definitely needed filling up too, but we did get to see a beautiful Cooper's hawk perched in a tree while we checked out the raptor exhibit. This place is a bit of a hidden gem. If you have children between 2 and 10 you should definitely pay this place a visit. Older kids will love it too if they are into nature. Thanks Meadowside. We'll be back! read more

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This review is for the hiking not for the nature Center. The six mile trail around the lake is an absolutely wonderful hike. We went on the labor Day weekend and there weren't many people there. The first part of the hike was well blazed but had significant amount of roots along the path. About 3 miles in on the hike the path became totally paved. Then the rest of the path was stone and dirt. No big obstacles other than crossing a very small stream, hard to even call it a stream it was so small. Just use the rocks to get over. The county did a wonderful job in marking the trail. There was no time during the trip that we didn't have a clear path of where we were going. A fun 2 hours of walking for us. I'll go back there in a minute. read more

Meadowside Nature Center - Education Near Me - Rockville, Maryland

We love keeping nature centers in our rotation of places to bring the kids. Its always a fun time and nice to be technology free for a bit. This is one of the best ones in the area. The playroom has a row of tanks that have snakes and turtles to check out. Don't forget to use the rows of magnifying glasses to get a closer look! Once you have your fill of books, puzzles, blocks, and turtles, the adventure continues. The front room has a fun cave to explore that includes a slide at the end. You have to crawl through and it's a bit dark. Smaller kids might want a flashlight to help guide the way. They sometimes have one or two available for you to borrow. Outside they have a collection of large birds including a bald eagle. In the front, there is also a fun area to play in outside. Trails, a pond, you can be a fully entertained a whole day here. Also look into the programs that they have for both kids and adults. read more

I have made many visits to Meadowside now that my oldest of age that she can go hiking and explore nature. She loved spending time looking at the reptiles in the play room and exploring the tunnel/cave when she visits. The staff is very friendly and willing to answer questions. The trails are kept in great shape year round. read more

Enjoyable visit especially if you have children who are into nature and animals. The place is a little dated but it's probably due to a limited state budget. It is CLEAN however, I saw a staff member wiping down all the toys and books (thank you!). You can come check out birds (raptors), turtles and some snakes. Many of the animals here cannot live in the wild anymore so they live out the rest of their lives here. There is a space for birthday parties and it includes a naturalist-led portion so that's great. read more

Meadowside Nature Center - This is the room for birthday parties (you can rent it online). - Education Near Me - Rockville, Maryland

This is a nice little nature center! We went with a few of our kids over Christmas break and had the place mostly to ourselves since the other schools were already back in session. There's a lot of hands on stuff, cool places to crawl around, and some animals to look at. Don't pass by the area with the beds - there are wooden toys and metal tavern puzzles to tinker with! The birds outside aren't as accessible as they used to be - there's a deck for viewing instead of a path to walk near the enclosures now - but you can still get pretty darn close to the bald eagle and hear it's creaky door sounds if it's feeling vocal. There's also an owl, a hawk and a vulture to take a peek at. When we were outside we spotted a hawk way up in the trees and a woman who works there brought out her binoculars to identify it. She was friendly and knowledgeable and generously shared the binoculars with us so we could see up close too. We didn't do the other outside things since it's winter and was a little chilly but it looks like you could spend hours exploring. read more

Meadowside Nature Center - At the end of the dark cave tunnel is a slide :) - Education Near Me - Rockville, Maryland

My daughter and I's first time in Meadowside. It's actually small but it's clean and well maintained. They have water fountain and bathroom is clean. As soon as you get in, into your right it has like a cave that kids can play. At the lobby, they have few displays, which is educational to everyone. We attended a class, and the instructor was good. She explained the different kinds of birds, and how birds survive daily. It was interactive, the instructor will asked kids they don't just seat down. Also, she showed pictures and different kind of skeletons. After the presentation, she took us outside. We saw three different birds and one of that is the Bald Eagle, the US National Emblem, which I think is pretty cool. The reason I'm only giving 4 stars because it's really small. I wish there are more animals that you can see. If you only wanted to visit without class, it's probably less than 5 minutes to see around depends how fast you walk. But it's nice to take kids when it's winter time, they will learn about nature and animals. read more

Meadowside Nature Center - Bald Eagle - Education Near Me - Rockville, Maryland

Our party consisted of two toddlers and their moms on a mid-week excursion. Kids loved romping around the forest on the paths. Very pretty in the fall. We loved the reading/toy room and the kids had fun playing around with the model pioneer house. Probably our least favorite areas are the section with all the rehabilitated but permanently disabled birds - which was a bit sad, and the interior part with the stuffed animals and fake vegetation - a bit creepy and musty (but I have an aversion to 'preserved' animals). We will definitely be back! read more

My two-year-old loves hanging out here! We have actually spent more time inside the center than outside on the paths and trails because I tend to think of this as a place to go for entertainment on a rainy day. The indoor cave and turtle pond are my son's favorite part, and there are also plenty of activities and more small animals to look at in the play room. There is also a "raptor walkway" which features large birds like hawks and eagles, although I haven't personally spent much time out there because my child hasn't expressed much interest in that part of the center yet. I've never visited the center on a weekend, but on weekdays it is often quiet and not too crowded. We recently participated in the Tyke Hike program and found that to be a lot of fun as well. Each "hike" has a theme and involves a short age-appropriate talk, a walk outside, and a craft. I think it's a bargain, and a great way to spend a morning. read more

If you want a place to bring little kids that's free, educational, and fun, this is the place. My kids have watched them feed the snakes and raptors, crawled through tunnels in the exhibition area, identified local birds at the feeders, examined bugs with a magnifying glass, and more. Some may find the taxidermy a bit creepy, but you really can't do better than this for free. read more

My son is 19 months and he loved this place. We were greeted by a friendly man at the door who asked us if this was our first time, clearly I must have looked dazed and confused. He explained each room to us and what would be appropriate for my sons age. When we went outside to look at the birds, he also gave little scientific facts which was quite nice. I loved the bald eagle though I don't think my son noticed it because of how its enclosure is situated. I'm guessing that is for safety reasons because it is huge, much taller than my son. That's really the only complaint I have about the entire place. I also couldn't get a picture of the eagle for my snapchat which is basically a slap in the face! Lol. I'm serious though. It was quite aggravating. read more

I used to love coming here as a kid and now i take my own children. The place has not been updated or renovated since the late 1980's when i went. It is the exact same, no updates at all and a lot of the displays are just broken and its kind of sad. The cave of course is fun and the trails can't be beat, but the facility itself is stuck in the 80's and nothing really works, the microscope TV thing is ALWAYS out of service. I definitely would not pay those prices for a birthday party here, but some of their trail/educational programs are fun. read more

Great weekend programs for the family and awesome pre-school programs! The staff is very kind. If you walk back to the naturalist office, the staff are more than happy to answer any nature related questions for you. read more

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We went on a Saturday with family and friends. All the kids from 18 months - 11 years old had a good time. The cave exhibit and the old time home exhibit inside were great. The play room was a little crowded when we were there but had cool animals to explore and a good array of play items. What we came for was the Raptor learning and enrichment. It was definitely a neat experience, the nature center employee was informative and friendly, great with the kids! The bald eagle was beautiful! We also enjoyed the outdoor play area. We'll be back for some further outdoor exploring in drier weather. read more

It's actually not a bad facility but the staff are really not very smart or kind. We came 15 minutes early to drop off supplies for my son's birthday to which they reply no you cannot do that. Why? Is it currently being used by someone else? No. Is it because the room is not ready yet? No that's not it. Is it because of your limited mental faculty you cannot process the fact that we came to drop some supplies at a room that's not currently being used a few minutes early? Yes, that's it. The place is not run by smart people. Logic, human decency are not characteristics that bless this staff of geniuses. read more