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You are here: Home / Archives for Bluebonnet Swamp

Bluebonnet Swamp 25th Birthday Party

May 1, 2022 by Tiany Davis

Everyone is invited to join Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center for their birthday bash – 25 years of connecting people to nature! To celebrate this milestone, they are inviting bakers of all skill levels to participate in a birthday bake-off.

Sweet treats of all shapes and styles with a nature-inspired theme will be judged on appearance and taste.

Bluebonnet Swamp

Bluebonnet Swamp Birthday Party

Admission fees will be dropped for the day! Guests will get to participate in live animal encounters, crafts, games, and birthday cake – while it lasts!

Event: Swamp Birthday
Date: May 21
Time: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Location: Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center

Theme: Celebrating Louisiana Nature

In commemoration of Bluebonnet Swamp’s 25th Birthday, BREC is hosting a BAKE OFF. Cookies, cakes, brownies, and pies – all sweet treats and elaborately decorated creations are welcome.

The theme for this competition will be Celebrating Louisiana Nature to show off how you interpret the natural beauty around us.

Learn more and register to enter the bake off: https://www.brec.org/index.cfm/form/home/194

 

Filed Under: Family Friendly Baton Rouge, Things To Do Tagged With: Baton Rouge Summer Fun, Bluebonnet Swamp, BREC, Family Friendly things to do, Things To Do Baton Rouge

Rockin’ at the Swamp – BREC’s Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center

March 1, 2022 by Baton Rouge Family Fun

Rocks, crystals, and gemstones, oh my! Rockin’ at the Swamp has been a family favorite for years. Our boys enjoyed going year after year. In previous years we enjoyed the different learning stations, playing games, rock climbing, digging for shark teeth, and playing with the giant stones!

Rockin' at the Swamp

Photos from previous Rockin’ at the Swamp events.

Rockin’ at the Swamp

If you like nature’s earthly treasures, this event will rock your world!;) Join BREC’s Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center to explore the world of rocks, minerals, gemstones, and fossils.  Add to your rock collection or find some unique gift items at the Rockhound Market. Try your skill scaling the rock climbing wall. Learn to identify different rocks and minerals and make your own take-home identification card on the Treasure Trail. Experience the excitement of the gold rush while hunting for iron pyrite in our Gold Mine. Try out some rockin’ crafts or paint your own Rock Animal in the craft corner. Explore ancient life forms in the Fossil Quarry. This is one rockin’ day of fun highlighting geology and earth science.

Rockin' at the Swamp

Food and beverage purchases are available from on-site vendors.

Rockin' at the Swamp

Date: March 15
Time: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Cost: Adult/$5 Child/$4

For More Information
225-757-8905
sguidry@brec.org

Filed Under: Entertainment, Events, Family Friendly Baton Rouge Tagged With: Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge Events, Baton Rouge Family, baton rouge family friendly events, Baton Rouge Moms, Baton Rouge Parents, Bluebonnet Swamp, BREC, Things to do, Things to do in Baton Rouge with kids

Swamp Haunted Hikes – BREC’s Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center

October 6, 2019 by Baton Rouge Family Fun

The Baton Rouge Holloween events haves started and Swamp Haunted Hikes at BREC’s Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center is one of our favorites! Our kids had a great time last year, it’s an evening chock-full of activities and not-so-scary Halloween fun! Check out our short video from last year below! 

 Swamp Haunted Hikes – BREC’s Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center

Baton Rouge Haunted HikesBluebonnet Swamp’s Haunted Hikes are designed especially for children, but all ages enjoy the spooktacular excitement of these Halloween-themed evenings. Event admission is through the education building where crafts and storytelling are just around the corner. Venture outside to find a way through the Haunted Maze to get to the carnival games for more fun and prizes. Be on the lookout for our silly-swampy costumed characters as they have some great treasures to share! Inside the nature center, the kooky-spooky adventures continue with the Animal Morgue, Wings of Hope Wildlife Sanctuary in the Bat Cave, the Creepy Cavern, and face-painting. 
Swamp Haunted Hikes
Costumed characters lurk throughout the site ready to share “kooky treasures” with all the attending little witches, fairies, hobgoblins, and heroes. Don’t be afraid of the dark! At night, head into the woods to get some treats and learn about snakes, insects, rats, and other “creepy critters” at educational stations along the Haunted Hike Trail. No scare tactics are used during this program as we strive to create cheerful-not-fearful experiences for our younger participants. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Costumes are welcome and flashlights are recommended. Food vendors will be on-site during the event. Join us for a howling good time!

WHERE: BREC’s Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center
WHEN: Oct. 11 + 18 + 25 – Doors open at 6 p.m., trail opens at dark.
COST: $6 per person 

We hope to see you there!

 
Disclosure: This is a “sponsored post.” The company who sponsored it compensated BRM via a cash payment, gift, or giveaway. Opinions expressed herein are that of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of the sponsor. 

 

Filed Under: Baton Rouge Resources, Family Friendly Baton Rouge, Holidays, Uncategorized Tagged With: Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge Events, Baton Rouge Family, Baton Rouge Halloween, Baton Rouge Halloween Trick or Treating, Bluebonnet Swamp, BREC, Swamp Haunted Hikes

Duck Duck Goose Day – BREC’s Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center

August 7, 2019 by Tiany Davis

One of our favorite annual events is taking place in two weeks and you won’t want to miss it! Fly over to Bluebonnet Swamp for some end-of-summer family fun at Duck Duck Goose Day. Explore the cultural, historical, and artistic value of waterfowl carvings while viewing vintage and contemporary decoys, wood carvings, boats, and paddles displayed by carvers and collectors from throughout the Deep South and beyond.

Duck Duck Goose Day

Enjoy hands-on activities like the Waterfowl Identification Hike, the Carving Corner where visitors use soap to carve their own mini duck decoys, the Duck Box inflatable jump house, live baby ducklings in the Duck Pen, waterfowl-themed carnival prize booths, face-painting and more. Need more information about your decoy heirlooms? There will be plenty of experts on hand to assist in evaluating your waterfowl collectibles.

Duck duck Goose Day

Duck Duck Goose Day

WHEN: Saturday, August 17, 2019 at 9 AM – 4 PM
WHERE: BREC’s Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center
COST: $5 per adult / $4 per child (3-17) / free for children 2 and younger / $2 per pass holder

Watch our recap video to see some of the day’s highlights… 

Filed Under: Baton Rouge Resources, Family Friendly Baton Rouge, Parks / Rec Tagged With: Bluebonnet Swamp, Brec park, Duck duck Goose Day Baton Rouge

Holiday Themed Sensory Activities for Children

November 20, 2018 by Guest Contributor

With the holidays underway, fun is in the air, the temperature is decreasing, and the days are getting shorter. One way to help your kids connect with nature and get them into the spirit of the season is to do some holiday themed sensory activities.

Sensory play is an important part of child development. From babies putting everything in their mouths to toddlers opening cupboards and making messes, children learn by exploring the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures of the world around them. Learning what is hot and cold, rough and smooth, squishy and hard, can help build vocabulary and develop fine motor skills. Fun experiences in a controlled environment help children learn to process sensory input so they are less likely to be overwhelmed when they’re in crowded or noisy places. This is particularly important for children with sensory integration issues.

So how can you incorporate sensory play into your activities with your child this fall? Here are some fun, affordable ideas that the whole family is sure to enjoy.

Eight great holiday themed sensory activities:

Decorate your home: One great activity to do with your children is decorating your home. With Christmas or any holiday upon us, placing decorations around your home can help to set the proper mood for this time of year. In order to give your decorating activity a sensory component, make sure your decorations have different textures for your children to experience. Consider getting some decorations that make noise, move, or involve some crafting, as they’ll encourage your little one to actively participate in the decorating, and give them a chance to ‘interact’ more with your decor.

Make homemade gifts: Helping your child make their own holiday gifts can be a lot of fun. There are a plethora of items that can be used for gifting and crafting. Adding finishing touches like paint, glitter, buttons, and gluing felt are all things your kids can do to help keep them involved in making their holiday gifts. Gifting loved ones with items they have made will give them a sense of accomplishment because they put work into it. 

holiday themed sensory activities

Write and perform a play: Sit down with your kids and help them draft up their very own play. Once the play is written and they have a cast composed of their friends, help them make simple costumes and create their set and ‘stage’ complete with props and twinkle lights. Since the weather is so nice this time of year, think about having the play outside. Help your kiddos rehearse and set up chairs for their audience on the night of the show. Have parents and friends over to watch, complete with an ‘after party’ celebration following the show.

Plant a winter garden: Starting a garden at this point in the year can be a little tricky. Make sure to research what plants are hardy enough to survive the winter temperatures in your particular location. Lettuce, carrots, radishes, garlic, and onions are all options for a winter vegetable garden. Seeds should be started indoors and transplanted outdoors. Think about investing in some type of heat-conserving covers for your plants, which can keep plants at a temperature 5 to 10 degrees above the temperature outside. A great way for your kids to get hands-on when starting the garden is to have them make their own mulch for the plants.

Make a fall-themed sensory bin: Create your very own fall-themed sensory bin. Sensory bins are really easy to make. All you need is a container and a filler. Make sure your container is large enough for your kids to explore in without making a mess, or lay a plastic tarp under the bin to keep the mess under control. A fall-themed bin can simply be a plastic fall-colored bin. After deciding on your bin, pick out a filler. It can be anything from unpopped popcorn, to oatmeal, sunflower seeds, and dry rice. All are acceptable filler items for your bin. Once you pick your filler, consider adding farm animals, fallen leaves, fall-colored pom poms, and various scoops and spoons for digging and exploring.

Go on a nature walk: Going for a walk may seem like a simple activity, but it gives your kids a chance to combine most of their senses at the same time while also providing them with some exercise. They’ll be able to feel the temperature shift from summer to fall in the air, hear leaves crunching and crackling under their feet, see the leaves that haven’t fallen yet change color, and smell the fall air. We recommend Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center for a Baton Rouge trail. 

Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center

Try geocaching. For older children, you can add a sense of excitement to your walk by going geocaching. Working to find the caches will help your kids focus more on their surroundings and learn about coordinates and directions. Chances are they’ll be getting more hands-on with nature than they would have otherwise.

Earn merit badges. Whether you do it as part of a formal scouting program or invent your own, you can award your kids merit badges for trying new foods, performing CPR on dolls or stuffed animals, cooking something, building a tower, and lots of other tactile activities.

Final thoughts

To get your kids into the spirit of the season, change up their at-home activities to have a holiday theme. Different seasonal activities can usually be tailored to have more of a sensory aspect. These activities help kids work on their fine and gross motor skills, communication and linguistic skills, and they improve their understanding of their own senses. These holiday themed sensory activities will get your little ones ready for the season ahead, and keep them having fun and learning at the same time.

 

Filed Under: Baton Rouge Resources, Education Tagged With: Baton Rouge, Bluebonnet Swamp

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