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Our facility is open Monday through Friday, 9am to 4pm, and from 10am to 2pm on weekends.

Visit us. Everyday, our trails are free and open from dawn until dusk.

Our facility will be closed on Monday, May 26th in observance of Memorial Day.

Our building will reopen to the public at 9am on Tuesday, May 27th.

Everyday, our trails are free and open from dawn until dusk.

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Lead all scouts to a deeper appreciation of the natural world with troop badge work.

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It’s National Scavenger Hunt Day! Creating a sc

It’s National Scavenger Hunt Day!
Creating a scavenger hunt can make an outdoor hike even more exciting. See how many different birds you can find, look for flowers in every color of the rainbow, or search for animal prints in the mud.
At the Nature Center, we have a scavenger seasonal hunt included in our Trailside Backpacks. Alternatively, for the next couple of weeks, you could also try spring ephemeral BINGO, available in the lobby.
Get outside this weekend and see what you can find!
Photo: Kira Breitlow, Aldo Leopold Nature Center
#ScavengerHunt #WIEnviroEd #NatureIsEverywhere #NatureIsForEveryone #EveryBodyOutside

Shooting stars are beginning to bloom in the prair

Shooting stars are beginning to bloom in the prairie!
This native perennial displays patches of white, star-shaped flowers, arching at the top of a long, thin ‘shooting’ stem. These beauties are some of the first wildflowers to bloom in the prairie every spring and their petals can be white, light pink, or rosy pink.
Shooting stars, also called American cowslips, mosquito bills, mad violets, and sailor caps, are pollinated by bees via buzz pollination, which is also known as sonication. Bees will grab a hold of the shooting stars’ petals and buzz their wings until pollen is released into the air for the bees to gather.
What signs of spring do you see? Visit us for a hike or take a walk around your neighborhood looking for cyclical events influenced by seasonal changes.
Photo: Kira Breitlow, Aldo Leopold Nature Center
#PhenologyFriday #ShootingStars #WIEnviroEd #NatureIsEverywhere #NatureIsForEveryone #EveryBodyOutside

Look at what a group of volunteers found! At firs

Look at what a group of volunteers found!
At first, the group thought that it was a gall but after a little investigation, they realized that it was an egg sac attached to a plant stem. Galls are an outgrowth of plant tissues induced by an organism's presence within the plant tissue, while egg sacs are produced by an animal to protect its eggs from predators and the environment. They are often associated with spiders.
Further investigation determined that this egg sac belonged to a praying mantis. Also called an ootheca, mantis egg sacs appear as foamy masses, tan-to-brown in color and often resembling polystyrene (Styrofoam) insulation. The specific shape and texture of the ootheca helps distinguish between different species of praying mantis.
In this picture, we are looking at the ootheca of a Chinese mantis (Tenodera sinensis). This species is native to Asia and is considered an invasive species in many areas of the United States. Unfortunately, Chinese mantis are still sold as pest control even though they are indiscriminate predators, consuming beneficial insects along with pests. These voracious hunters can outcompete and will even consume our smaller, less aggressive native mantises, including the Carolina mantis (Stagmomantis carolina).
Have you seen a praying mantis egg sac before?
What signs of spring do you see? Visit us for a hike or take a walk around your neighborhood looking for cyclical events influenced by seasonal changes.
Photo: Stephanie Briand, Aldo Leopold Nature Center
#PhenologyFriday #PrayingMantis #EggSac #ChineseMantis #InvasiveSpecies #WIEnviroEd #NatureIsEverywhere #NatureIsForEveryone #EveryBodyOutside

Aldo Leopold Nature Center is at Aldo Leopold Nature Center.

1 day ago

It’s National Scavenger Hunt Day!Creating a scavenger hunt can make an outdoor hike even more exciting. See how many different birds you can find, look for flowers in every color of the rainbow, or search for animal prints in the mud.At the Nature Center, we have a scavenger seasonal hunt included in our Trailside Backpacks. Alternatively, for the next couple of weeks, you could also try spring ephemeral BINGO, available in the lobby.Get outside this weekend and see what you can find!Photo: Kira Breitlow, Aldo Leopold Nature Center#ScavengerHunt #WIEnviroEd #NatureIsEverywhere #NatureIsForEveryone #EveryBodyOutside ...

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Aldo Leopold Nature Center

Contact Us

330 Femrite Drive
Monona, WI 53716

Phone: (608) 221-0404
Fax: (608) 709-1611

alnc@aldoleopoldnaturecenter.org

Building Hours

Monday through Friday: 9am to 4pm
Saturday and Sunday: 10am to 2pm

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Open daily from dawn until dusk!

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Aldo Leopold Nature Center

ABOUT
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