Get ready to make some new friends as you head to these local parks for events focused on furry and scaly animals.
Feeding Day at E.C. Lawrence Park
April 1, 10-11 a.m., ages 2+, $6/person
Get involved in feeding E.C. Lawrence Park’s display animals. Search for worms and insects, assist in serving dinner and then make a bird feeder that you can take home. // 5040 Walney Road, Chantilly
April Foolers Campfire at Hidden Oaks Nature Center
April 1, 7-8 p.m., ages 4+, $6/person
Visit with live animals and hear naturalists tell stories of how animals use trickery to get a meal—or to keep from becoming a meal—all while you satisfy your sweet tooth by toasting marshmallows around the campfire at Hidden Oaks Nature Center. Registration is required. // 7701 Royce St., Annandale
Vernal Pools Sketch Hike
April 1, 10 a.m.-noon, ages 12+, $8/person
See pools come alive with the sound of frogs and the slithering and swimming of salamanders during Huntley Meadows‘ Vernal Pools Sketch Hike. Meet at the South Kings Highway entrance. // 3701 Lockheed Blvd., Alexandria
Capture Wild Animals
April 1, 2-3:30 p.m., ages 5+, free
The staff at Gulf Branch Nature Center and Park want you to come out and help capture some of their critters. And you can take them home. // 3608 N. Military Road, Arlington
Beavers, Wetland Builders
April 1, 6:30-8 p.m., ages 4-15, $7/person
Learn about the largest rodent in North America, the beaver. Touch real beaver feet, fur and bones and discover how their wetland habitat first formed, then go for a walk through Huntley Meadows Park and try to glimpse one of the beavers. // 3701 Lockheed Blvd., Alexandria
Life Under a Log
April 3, 2-3 p.m., ages 6-10, $5/person
Turn over fallen trees and see what lies beneath during this exploration at Gulf Branch Nature Center and Park. // 3608 N. Military Road, Arlington
Night Hike Campfire
April 8, 6:30-8 p.m., ages 4+, $10/person
Take a nighttime walk with a naturalist to search for wildlife at Burke Lake Park. After the hike, enjoy a campfire and s’mores. // 7315 Ox Road, Fairfax
Campfire Evenings
April 8, 14 & 28, 7-8 p.m., $5/person
Spend the evening listening to stories, playing games, munching on s’mores and even hanging out with animals at Gulf Branch Nature Center and Park and Long Branch Nature Center. Events at Gulf Branch include a Wiggly Worm Campfire April 14 and a Coyote Campfire April 28. And Long Branch gets into an Invertebrates Campfire on April 8. // Gulf Branch Nature Center: 3608 Military Road, Arlington; Long Branch Nature Center: 625 S. Carlin Springs Road, Arlington
Truck and Pony Show
April 15, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., free
Meet the ponies of Sprout Therapeutic Riding Center and climb in and around working trucks in the Broadlands at this annual event that supports the riding center. // Southern Walk Pool Parking Lot: 43081 Village Drive, Broadlands
Backyard Bats Alive!
April 15, 3-4 p.m., ages 5+, $8/person
Celebrate National Bat Appreciation Day at Huntley Meadows Park and learn why bats are important to the environment. // 3701 Lockheed Blvd., Alexandria
Celebrate Claude Moore Park’s 25th
April 18, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., free
The historic working farm is turning 25 and invites all to join in the celebration with animals at the visitors center and explorations of the workhorse barn. Plus, there will be a moonbounce, wagon rides, snow cones and more. // 21544 Old Vestal’s Gap Road, Sterling
