Kids Nature Nights at the Yakima Area Arboretum

Looking for a fun, safe, and educational night for the kids while you enjoy an evening out on the town? Then send your kiddos to Kids Nature Night at the Arboretum! Kids Nature Night is for children aged 5 through 12 who will enjoy a night full of science, games, arts and crafts, movies and more. Please note all attendees must be registered before the event and they must be potty trained.

We will be following all applicable county, state, and federal COVID-19 guidelines for our Kids Nature Nights.

As of March 12th, 2022 masks will not be required for events like Yakima Area Arboretum's Kids Nature Nights.
We will not require masks at the event unless guidelines change, but we encourage any and all attendees who wish to protect themselves to wear masks during the night.
We will not require any doctor notes on your child's COVID vaccination status, though we will be doing temperature checks and symptom screening at drop off. If any symptoms are of concern, the Arboretum may ask that your child stay home.

Kids will have free range of the Jewett Interpretive Center (with supervision of course!) to move freely between activities and stations throughout the evening. After dinner, attendees can explore the dark grounds on our night hike (weather permitting). Towards the end of the program, everyone will gather in the Gardenview Room to watch a nature movie related to the theme.

Dinner will be pizza (pepperoni, cheese, Hawaiian, and potentially others) with water, lemonade, and other fruit juices. If your child is a picky eater or has dietary restrictions, feel free to send along some snacks or a meal for them to enjoy. There are no discounts if you are sending food with your child. Please mark any and all allergies on the health and registration form so their leaders have the information available.

The cost of the event is $37 for your first child, plus $22 per extra you register. Each child needs a separate Health and Registration Form and COVID 19 Release filled out and brought to the event for each calendar year. If your child has attended a previous Kids Nature Night in 2022 or did 2022 Nature Day Camp this year then you do not need to fill out the form again. If this is your child's first Kids Nature Night in 2022, the link to the form can be found on this page.

What to bring:

Health and Registration form and COVID waiver printed and filled out (if it is the child's first Kids Nature night for 2022)
Comfy indoor clothes and tennis shoes
A flashlight and weather appropriate outdoor shoes and clothes for the night hike outside (weather permitting)
Sleeping bags, blankets, and/or pajamas for the movie
Dinner/snacks if they have dietary restrictions or are a picky eater

Please have kids leave any toys or valuables that you/they don't want to lose, share, or break back at home. If it is something that they really wish to share with the group, please get in touch with Education Director Garrett to see if it is appropriate and how best we can protect it while showing the group.

General Kids Nature Night Schedule

4:45pm to 6:00pm- Child check-in and drop-off

5:00pm to 6:00pm- Free time for crafts and games/activities

6:00pm to 6:30pm- Dinner

6:30pm to 8:00pm- Free time and/or Night Hike

8:00pm to 9:00pm- Movie time

8:30pm to 9:00pm- Child check-out and pick-up

Drop off starts at 4:45pm and pick-up begins at 8:30pm while the program ends at 9:00pm sharp. After 9:00pm any late pick-ups will be charged an additional $15.00 per 15 minutes late so please be on time, your kids will be missing you! (Arrangements for early pick-up/late drop-off must be made prior to event; early pick-up/late drop-off will not receive any discounts)

Health Release Form (Required)

COVID-19 Waiver (Required)

Kids Nature Night Schedule and Registration Links

Dates are announced within one month of the event in our weekly newsletter, on our Facebook page, and on our events page.

March 25th, 2022 "Spring Scene"

Get your child excited for spring with this seasonally focused Kids Nature Night! Kids will learn what animals and plants do to "wake up" in spring, what flowers can be seen around town and on grounds, and attendees will get to make their own cherry tree painting!

Registration Closed.

April 22, 2022 "Animal Tracks"

Thanks to the generous grant from Fresh Hop Ale Festival, we have acquired a wonderful collection of skull and track replicas to teach kids about animals and nature. Kids will be looking over different tracks, skulls, and more of some of our most iconic species of Washington!

September 30, 2022 "Operation Owl"

Bird brains are welcome here! Kids will learn all about owls and their many adaptations that make them a successful nocturnal predator! We will also be breaking up real owl pellets to see what owls have been eating here in our valley!

October TBD, 2022 "Spooky Sights and Sounds"

To prepare kids for this year's night of frights on Halloween, we'll explore some scarier things in nature like eye-shine at night, nocturnal animal calls, and more! There will be some awesome tricks with their treats this night!

Registration Link Coming Soon!

November TBD, 2022 "Busy Beaver Engineers"

Building things is what beavers do! Building homes, building dams, and building up their environment to name few! Kids will learn about beaver teeth, their "scent", and learn how beavers help alter their environment, which improves it for them and many other animals!

Registration Link Coming Soon!

December TBD, 2022 "Wreath Makers"

Using similar supplies as our regular wreath making workshop, kids will have the opportunity to learn how to make wreaths and use their creativity to give it their own flair! Great way to get them excited about the winter holidays!

Registration Link Coming Soon!

If you need to cancel your child's Kids Nature Nigh session for any reason, please contact us immediately. If the session is cancelled with at least 7 days notice you will receive a full refund minus a $10 processing fee. If the session is cancelled with less than 7 days, no refund will be given.