Events – Page 2 – Nature Discovery Center

Park Work Days

2025-01-06 Maura Denman

Thursdays from 9 – 10:30 AM

Adults, are you interested in helping us care for our nature park?

Join us on Thursday mornings to assist us with a variety of park maintenance tasks and special projects like removing invasive species, growing out & planting natives, watering recently planted plants, maintaining trails, and more.

• No experience necessary.
• Experienced staff will work with you & guide you through projects.
• Come dressed for the weather and prepared to get dirty.
• Bring your own gloves and gardening gear or use ours.

Sign up using our Better Impact Volunteer Portal.

Please contact Elzora Robinson, our Park Steward Assistant, with any questions. Call 713.667.6550 or email erobinson@naturediscoverycenter.org

100th Birthday Bash

2024-11-19 Maura Denman

Saturday, April 5 from 11am – 3pm

Rain or Shine — The Celebration is On!

Worried about the weather? No need! Come join us early tomorrow at 10 AM as we kick off the celebration of the Henshaw House before the rain rolls in. 🌧️☀️ Most activities have been moved under tents or indoors.

And if you love a little adventure — you’re totally welcome to stay and play in the rain with us too!

Pre-ordered food? We’ve got you! Swing by for drive-thru BBQ plate pickup — quick, easy, and delicious.
Ordered a t-shirt? You can grab it curbside on Saturday or pop into the center during Discovery Room hours.

Picking up curb side? Pull up to the parking lot drive on Newcastle (heading south) and a volunteer can help you collect anything you have already purchased.

We can’t wait to see you — rain boots and all! 🥳🌂

We’re excited to celebrate the 100th birthday of the historic Henshaw House which serves as our headquarters and indoor program space. Join us and our resident party animals for a birthday party like no other with DJ, interactive art with Artist in Red, a cake walk for cakes from Moeller’s Bakery, Discovery Room visits, games, BBQ brisket sandwiches smoked by the Bellaire Optimist Club and vegetarian alternative from The 401, sides by Charlie’s BBQ, cupcakes and ice cream, and more activities for the whole family! Proceeds from the event will provide essential funds for general NDC operations, including maintaining the historic house and nature park. NDC is an independent non-profit organization, and is not funded by the City of Bellaire.

VIP Package: $250 (this includes admission for up to 4 people, 4 food plates, designated dining area, 2 youth shirts for tie dye, 1 piece of one-of-a-kind NDC animal art, exclusive DIY art experience with an artist, and early Discovery Room access) For additional guests (beyond those already included in the package), you may add general admission tickets to your VIP Package when making your purchase.

General admission tickets: $25/person (kids under 2 years old are FREE).

Food Plate Add-on: $15/each

T-shirt Tie Dye Activity Add-on: $20/each (includes 1 t-shirt plus tie dye activity)

Online pre-order ticket sales will end at midnight on Friday, April 4. You can also purchase tickets at the event by stopping at the check-in table.

PURCHASE TICKETS

Browse our Sponsorship Packet to earn about sponsorship opportunities for this event.

SPONSOR AN ACTIVITY OR AREA AT THE EVENT

Event Sponsors To Date (3/24/25)

Arcade of Games Sponsor

Stage Sponsor

Animal Art Store Sponsor

Amie & Corbett Parker

Cup Cake & Ice Cream Sponsor

Cindy & Bob Siegel

Henshaw House Centennial T-shirts Sponsor

Friends of the Nature Discovery Center

Art Sponsor

The Lutschg Family

DJ Sponsor

Marybeth & Tom Flaherty

$100 for 100 Drawing Prize Sponsor

Can’t attend the event, but still want to support the Center? Consider a donation to our $100 for 100 Campaign.

In conjunction with the Centennial Celebration of the Henshaw House, we’re kicking off a campaign to raise $10,000 for general Nature Discovery Center operations this year. We’re asking you to make a donation of $100, just $1 for each of the Henshaw House’s 100 years. We’ll reach our goal with 100 donations of $100 each!

Contributors to this campaign will be entered into a drawing for a $250 gift card to Amazon. Two gift card winners will be drawn!

MAKE YOUR DONATION NOW

Winter Nature Hike

2024-11-19 Maura Denman

Join Eric at the front door for an exploration of winter nature out in the park. As you walk, you’ll look for, identify, and appreciate the diversity of animals that overwinter here or live in the park year-round and the habitat resources that support them through the winter.

Date & Time: Select Saturdays at 2:00 pm

Saturday, December 21 at 2pm

Program Location: Meet in front of the Center

Age Restrictions: This is a family program for kids 4 and up with their parents or adult caregivers.

Cost: members $5/person; non-members $10/person (Note: You must be Family Level or higher NDC members to receive the member discount.)

Registration: Advance registration is required. This is not a drop off program. All children must be registered and accompanied by a registered adult.

REGISTER

Program Size Limit: 15 people

Note: This program is subject to cancellation due to inclement weather.

For cancellation, refund and other program policies, please read our FAQ for Classes and Camps.

Groups: If you would like us to lead a nature walk for your private group of 5 to 10 people on a different date, please contact us at 713.667.6550 to discuss possible arrangements.

Pumpkin Patch Fall Festival 2025

2024-10-06 Maura Denman

We hope you’ll join us for our annual Pumpkin Patch Fall Festival October 25 & 26, 2025. We will have plenty of pumpkins, fun festival games, crafts and activities, scrumptious foods, informal family photo ops, meet the animals, and more! We’ll bring back games, activities, and crafts that were a hit last year and will be adding some new surprises we think you’ll love. We’ll be updating this page as the details of our 2025 Pumpkin Patch are finalized. Keep your eyes out over the weeks ahead for additional details of our VIP & NDC Members Only Early Access Event on Friday, October 24. The information below from last year’s event will give you a taste of what to expect in terms of the diversity of vendors and exhibitors we typically attract to our annual Pumpkin Patch Fall Festival.

NEW Pumpkin Patch Fall Festival FAQ

2024 Food Truck and Vendor Line Up for both Saturday and Sunday

Ashy Legs BBQ
Mily’s On the Road Taqueria
Firehouse Pizza
New Orleans Style Sno-Balls
Fresh’n Juicy Lemonade

2024 Vendors and Exhibitors

Bellaire Environmental & Sustainability Board
Green Balance Pest Control
Hive Bee Farm
Paper Pie
Pet Supplies Plus
Plant it Forward
Six Pixels Studios
Yarn Harvest Co.

VIP Early Access Event Details

NDC Wildlife Supporter Level Members and other Pumpkin Patch VIPs were invited to a pre-festival, private VIP Event on Friday, October 18. They’ll have easy parking, get a professional family portrait, and have their choice of pumpkins before the crowd arrives for the weekend. This year’s VIP Event will also give kiddos a preview play of some of our popular Pumpkin Patch Fall Festival games. This special event will feature catered light bites, festive seasonal beverages, an exclusive animal encounter, and special VIP giveaways from sponsors and vendors. Become a Wildlife Supporter Level Member to take advantage of this Member perk next year. The RSVP period for this year is closed.

We’ll have tens of thousands of pounds of pumpkins this year, including heirloom varieties! But please note that we only sell pumpkins during our fall festival weekend, October 19 and 20.

Event Parking will be available on side streets in the neighborhood surrounding the park (see map here). Please be courteous to our neighbors and make sure that you allow plenty of space for them to come and go freely from their driveways. Volunteering at Pumpkin Patch is a great way for teens and adults to get in on the fun. Groups welcome. To sign up to volunteer, contact DeAndra Ramsey. Have a volunteer question? Read our Pumpkin Patch Fall Festival Volunteer FAQ.

We are thankful for the generosity of our 2024 Sponsors

Pumpkin Sponsor

Vine Level Sponsors

Seed Level Sponsors

Harvest Host Sponsors

Popsicles in the Park

2024-08-27 Maura Denman

Come to the NDC by the South Entrance off Evergreen for free popsicles, refreshments, and of course outdoor play, games and an animal encounter with one of our live Ambassador Animals.

Parents, we’ll have special refreshments for you too, and our board and staff will be available to share information and answer questions about the upcoming Enchanted Woods Nature Play Area!

This is a drop-in event, so no registration is necessary – just come by between 5:30-7:30 pm next Thursday, September 5.

We’ll see you there!

Fall Birding Trip: Sparrows & More!

2024-08-16 Maura Denman

with Cin-Ty Lee and Mary Ann Beauchemin

Saturday, November 9

On this late fall birding trip (perfect for both beginning and advanced birders) we will be looking for visiting sparrows and other fall / winter birds who head south at this time of year. We are planning to visit Bear Creek, some good birding spots in Katy, and some other hot spots we will choose closer to the field trip date based on bird sightings in the area at that time.

Participants will provide their own transportation for this trip. Meeting locations and times will be sent to all registered participants via email ahead of the trip.

Ages: Adults and families with children ages 7 and up are welcome. This will be a very long day for small children. All children must be registered attendees and must be accompanied by a registered adult attendee.

Cost: $75 member / $95 non-member

Advance registration required.

REGISTER

PM Discovery Rooms (Thu)

2024-08-13 Maura Denman

Our Schoolyear Discovery Room Open Hours are generally Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 10 am to noon and from 4 to 6 pm.

We occasionally have to keep the rooms closed due to program conflicts and/or staffing issues. We will make every effort to update the calendar to reflect these temporary closures.

Please come visit our Discovery Rooms to see our Ambassador Animals, read a book, touch and examine some of our natural history specimens, pick up a scavenger hunt, check out a backpack, and more!

Discovery Room Hours

2024-08-13 Maura Denman

Our Summer Discovery Room Open Hours are generally Saturdays from 10 am to 2 pm.

We occasionally have to keep the rooms closed due to program conflicts and/or staffing issues. We will make every effort to update the calendar to reflect these temporary closures.

Please come inside to visit our Discovery Rooms and see our Ambassador Animals, read a book from our nature library, touch and examine some of our natural history specimens, pick up a scavenger hunt and more!

PM Discovery Room Hours (Wed)

2024-08-13 Maura Denman

Our Schoolyear Discovery Room Open Hours are generally Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 10 am to noon and from 4 to 6 pm.

We occasionally have to keep the rooms closed due to program conflicts and/or staffing issues. We will make every effort to update the calendar to reflect these temporary closures.

Please come visit our Discovery Rooms to see our Ambassador Animals, read a book, touch and examine some of our natural history specimens, pick up a scavenger hunt, check out a backpack, and more!

AM Discovery Room Hours (Wed)

2024-08-13 Maura Denman

Our Schoolyear Discovery Room Open Hours are generally Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 10 am to noon and from 4 to 6 pm.

We occasionally have to keep the rooms closed due to program conflicts and/or staffing issues. We will make every effort to update the calendar to reflect these temporary closures.

Please come visit our Discovery Rooms to see our Ambassador Animals, read a book, touch and examine some of our natural history specimens, pick up a scavenger hunt, check out a backpack, and more!

Events Listing

Park Work Days

100th Birthday Bash

Saturday, April 5 from 11am – 3pm

Event Sponsors To Date (3/24/25)

Can’t attend the event, but still want to support the Center? Consider a donation to our $100 for 100 Campaign.

Winter Nature Hike

Pumpkin Patch Fall Festival 2025

We are thankful for the generosity of our 2024 Sponsors

Pumpkin Sponsor

Vine Level Sponsors

Seed Level Sponsors

Harvest Host Sponsors

Popsicles in the Park

Fall Birding Trip: Sparrows & More!

PM Discovery Rooms (Thu)

Discovery Room Hours

PM Discovery Room Hours (Wed)

AM Discovery Room Hours (Wed)

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AM Discovery Room Hours (Wed)