Admission

Daily Admission

Thank you! Your admission payment supports KNC’s mission by providing funding for trail maintenance, research, conservation, programs, exhibits, and more. Our goal is to inspire everyone to experience nature everyday - we appreciate your support and hope you have a wonderful visit!

Please note, general admission is not valid for special events like Maple Sugar Festival.

KRVT Trail Use

Self Guided Group

Preschool Explorers

Come dressed to explore the outdoors while developing early childhood readiness skills. Each week participants will enjoy a nature inspired program based on a monthly theme with centers, a story, a movement activity and a craft. All programs are planned to run completely outdoors but will take place in the Visitor Center during inclement weather. Geared toward children ages 3-5 years old; however, children under age 3 are still welcome to register. All children must have an adult in attendance. 

 

 

Are you a KNC Member? Please sign in or register above to receive special Member pricing on programs, camps, and workshops all year!

Returning and Reskilling

 

Intentional or not, we are always forming and evolving our relationship with the land.

As our world moves increasingly toward technological advancement and convenience driven invention, historical knowledge connected to living with landscape and place is lost. Communities and individuals no longer carry the skills to explore and navigate the wilderness or work with the natural places where we live to meet our daily needs and creative inspirations.

Taking place at the DeLano Homestead, this series aims to return land-based living skills to our community and reskilling a new generation to live with the land.

 

Are you a KNC Member? Please sign in or register above to receive special Member pricing on programs, camps, and workshops all year!

 

Facility Rental

River Guardians

Are you looking for an opportunity to better understand your local watershed? Become a Kalamazoo River Guardian! Working with a team of experts, participants will help sample parts of the Kalamazoo River watershed and its local tributaries for macroinvertebrates (water bugs). Samples will be brought back to the lab to be identified under microscopes as a group. The data collected contributes to a statewide database used for valuable research and monitoring of water quality. No prior experience is required, and lunch will be provided. 

This event is recommended for those older than 8. If you have a younger person who you would like to bring with, please connect with us and we can discuss ways in which they can participate safely and while having a fun experience. 

Please contact Lindsey Dolinski at ldolinski@naturecenter.org with any questions.

Music Mornings

 

Carolyn Koebel and guests will bring in the morning with beats and beauty in our outdoor setting. Bring a morning picnic and a blanket to gather on. If rain prevents an outdoor show, we will move indoors to our Visitor Center. Your morning snacks can travel indoors with you.

Members: Please remember to log in to receive your discount at checkout. 

After School Animals

Head to KNC for After-school Animals to get the chance to see one of our amazing animal ambassadors! Meet a KNC staff member inside the Visitor Center to learn about a different Animal Ambassador each month before you go out on your evening adventures.

Know Your Nature

Connecting deeply to the natural world in the place we live in is a guiding principle for KNC. This new series will be a place to learn from local experts about our local ecology, landscapes, environmental issues, flora and fauna, and our human interactions with the world we are part of.

Members: Please remember to log in to receive your discount at checkout.

 

Public Observation - Kalamazoo Astronomical Society

Nature's Way Preschool

 

At Nature’s Way Preschool, we provide a caring and positive atmosphere for young learners to thrive.  Students spend the majority of their school day outdoors, allowing them to make deep connections with the natural world. Our play-based activities encourage discovery and exploration. Students participate in sensory rich experiences that develop the whole child, while building cognitive, social-emotional, and physical competencies. Thematic units follow the seasons, allowing our students to help determine our topics of study based on the changing world around them. We immerse ourselves in nature and let the life in our woods guide our studies.  

Register now for the 2025-26 school year!

Please be sure to choose the correct age group for your child. If your child is registered to a class they do not qualify for, they will be unenrolled and are not guaranteed a spot in another class.

3-4 year olds:
Tuesday/Thursday Classes

Students must be 3 years old by September 1 to attend.

2 day morning* 8:30-11:30
2 day morning* 8:45-11:45
2 day afternoon* 12:30-3:30
2 day afternoon* 12:45-3:45
*All 2 day classes are held Tuesdays and Thursdays.

4-5 year olds:
Monday/Wednesday/Friday Classes

Pre-kindergarten

3 day morning* 8:30-11:30
3 day morning* 8:45-11:45
3 day afternoon* 12:30-3:30
3 day afternoon* 12:45-3:45
*All 3 day classes are held Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

 

Want to see which teachers are in each classroom? Visit our NWP staff page: Nature's Way Preschool Staff

 

Be sure to decide whether you would like to pay in full or opt in for monthly payments due on the 15th of every month starting in August. 

Minimum deposit required at time of registration. A $100 discount will be applied to the orders of those who pay in full by August 1, 2025. The pay in full prices reflect this discount. If you select monthly payments, you can decide to pay in full at any time. Select the monthly payment option to pay a deposit if you plan to pay in full prior to August 1 but cannot pay the full amount at this time. Please contact the Program Registrar at register@naturecenter.org for more details. Those who have not paid in full by August 1 should expect to be contacted by the registrar to set up monthly recurring payments. 

TUITION PAYMENT Nature’s Way Preschool is able to provide a quality experience for your child directly from your tuition. When registering you will be required to pay a deposit. Then you will have the option to pay the remainder of the 9 months tuition in full or set up a monthly payment plan. Monthly payments will be posted on the first of the month. If you opt out of the monthly payment plan, Nature’s Way Preschool will send you a monthly reminder to make your payment and you will be responsible to log on and post your payments by the first of the month. Full payment is due each month regardless of absences due to illness, vacations, holidays, or inclement weather closings.

WITHDRAW If you withdraw you child prior to August 15, you will not be responsible for the remainder of the tuition, but Nature’s Way Preschool will retain your deposit.

 

*If your preferred class is full, please sign up for the waitlist: NWP 2025-26 School Year Waitlist

Nature's Way Preschool Home

 

Michigan Butterfly Network (MiBN) Virtual Training

Birding Hikes

Annual Alumni Board Luncheon