Briar Bush Nature Center552

The winner of our 2008 Parents' Picks quest to find the Best Day Camp for Little Kids in Philadelphia, Briar Bush Nature Center provides environmental education to individuals and groups of all ages.

The 12-acre nature center includes trails that pass by a windmill-fed pond, the Griscom Bird Observatory, native wildflower gardens, woodlands, and meadows. The museum contains a simulated Pennsylvania crawl-through cave, hands-on exhibits, reference library, children's Reading Hollow, live animal displays, observation beehive, indoor pond, and Discovery Den for the youngest visitors and their parents.

The Briar Bush Nature Shop is stocked by Wild Bird Center of Willow Grove with items for babies, toddlers, children, and adults.

Family membership packages begin at $40 and offer many benefits.

Birthday parties, available to BBNC members, offer an hour-long nature program led by Forest Friends educators followed by an additional hour in the private family party area. Briar Bush facilities can also be rented for other events, such as meetings, parties, showers, weddings, etc.

Briar Bush Ecology Kids Summer Camp programs are one week long - with half-day sessions for younger participants - and range from Itty Bitty Briars (for kids age two with parent or caregiver) to the Adventurers, an overnight camp for kids in sixth to ninth grades. Half-day camps remain onsite and explore Briar Bush. Full day camps include field trips in BBNC's 15-passenger van.