There are some serious outdoor winter playtime perks for Urban Ecology Center members too! Members have access to our free equipment lending benefit, and in the winter that means sleds, snowshoes, cross country skis, and even ice skating at the Washington Park Lagoon. You can call in to any of our three branches to reserve the equipment ahead of time (and it’s a good idea to check on the ice conditions at the lagoon if you have your heart set on skating).
When you start feeling a little too frosty from all that frozen fun, why not come inside the Urban Ecology Center to thaw out? Our Centers are free and open to the public! Enjoy a piping hot mug of local and delicious Omahene hot cocoa, Colectivo Coffee, or Rishi tea, on us! You can even dry out your mittens and get a little toasty by a roaring fire in our wood burning stove.
Once you’ve warmed up your fingers with that steaming beverage, look for board games, books, puzzles, coloring pages, scavenger hunts, our famous slides(!), and more in our indoor kids’ areas! Coming soon, we plan to update our kids’ areas with some fun animal puppets and costumes, so you can really let your imagination run wild. (And while I have your attention, we would love your donations of new or gently used animal puppets and children’s animal costumes to round out our fun indoor activities!)
Before it’s time to head back home (the sun has probably already set long ago…) you can peek into our Native Wisconsin Animal Room and introduce yourself to some of our slippery and scaly friends. If you stop by at 1:00pm on a Saturday, you can even help out with feeding the animals and learn more about them. After all that activity and fun exploring the winter wonderland at all three of our Urban Ecology Center branches, you’ll probably be ready for a nice long hibernation…
