Programs & Activities

North Gallery
Discover works in watercolor, pastels, oil, and mixed media depicting subjects from nature to portraits by talented artists in our community.

South Gallery
View photographs of white-tailed deer, great blue herons, and plants through the lens of photographer David Castor.

The Decatur Audubon Society will cover transportation costs for 20 school buses to take field trips to Rock Springs Nature Center or any of the five Macon County Conservation Areas, from now until the end of the 2018-2019 school year.

Children and teens are invited to participate in a county-wide Wildlife Art Contest this winter. Entries are due January 25!
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Bring a little bit of the outside in and try your hand at making a frosted pinecone candle jar.
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Macon County Conservation District Board Meeting at Rock Springs Nature Center

Learn how to attract amphibians to your yard and why you might want to. View live frogs and toads, compare the homes they live in and create a toad house to take home.
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What do our local animals do during the winter? Learn this and more as we identify mounted specimens, learn about and feel real furs, and search for mammal tracks outside.
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December’s full moon is called the ‘Cold’ moon, and for good reason! Wear warm clothes as we view the moon through our telescope and take a short hike to view the forest illuminated by our only natural satellite.
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The Rock Springs Nature Center and business offices are closed for Christmas Eve.

Conservation District Offices and Rock Springs Nature Center are closed.

Children ages 1-5 explore winter past times and traditions involving mittens and snow through hands-on activities and songs.
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Why have dragons existed in our imaginations for centuries? Compare fact with fiction as we discuss the difference between mythical dragons and prehistoric dinosaurs, using realistic dinosaur replicas to tell the tale.
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Children ages 1-5 explore winter past times and traditions involving mittens and snow through hands-on activities and songs.
>> Read More & Register

Dulcimer Club Meetings at Rock Springs Nature Center offer a perfect opportunity to rediscover musical interests and talents. Bring your instrument, learn a new tune or simply enjoy the musical talents of our volunteers. Free and open to the public.

Join us as we learn about our over-wintering birds, take a hike, and then make peanut butter or Crisco pinecone bird feeders.
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The Rock Springs Nature Center and business offices are closed for New Year’s Day.

North Gallery
Enjoy a wide variety of photography, including scenes of trees, birds, landscapes, and more from talented local photographers.

South Gallery
View an eclectic collection of environmental art created by members of this local group committed to saving green spaces throughout our community.

Enjoy music played by Cross Country Classics. Free.

Friends Creek Conservation Area
Join us to learn about these forest-dwelling nocturnal predators. We will discuss what makes them special, then take a hike to find some. >> Read More & Register

Learn which birds are here during the winter, what to feed them, and whether or not feeding is actually helpful.
>> Read more & Register

Dulcimer Club Meetings at Rock Springs Nature Center offer a perfect opportunity to rediscover musical interests and talents. Bring your instrument, learn a new tune or simply enjoy the musical talents of our volunteers. Free and open to the public.

Join a naturalist as we walk through the woods and look for woodpeckers, sparrows, cardinals, and more.
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Bluegrass Music Jam at Rock Springs Nature Center offer a perfect opportunity to rediscover musical interests and talents. Bring your instrument, learn a new tune or simply enjoy the musical talents of our volunteers. Free and open to the public.

Children ages 1-5 discover worlds beyond our own as we use our senses to contrast and compare Earth to nearby planets.
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Children ages 1-5 discover worlds beyond our own as we use our senses to contrast and compare Earth to nearby planets.
>> Read More & Register

Macon County Conservation District Board Meeting at Rock Springs Nature Center

Take a trip to this popular state park to look for wintering eagles, check out the visitor’s center, and even visit the lock and dam museum.
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How many species of deer do we have in Illinois? Learn about these resident mammals by touching their fur, viewing an antler, and making a craft.
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Rock Springs Nature Center is open. Business offices are closed.

Visit this state park and venture through river bluffs and woods to get an up-close look at wintering bald eagles along the Mississippi River and lower Illinois River.
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Take a trip to this popular state park to look for wintering eagles, check out the visitor’s center, and even visit the lock and dam museum.
>> Read more & Register

Dulcimer Club Meetings at Rock Springs Nature Center offer a perfect opportunity to rediscover musical interests and talents. Bring your instrument, learn a new tune or simply enjoy the musical talents of our volunteers. Free and open to the public.

Homeschoolers are invited to join a naturalist as we talk about what animals do in winter.
>> Read More & Register

Take a trip to this popular state park to look for wintering eagles, check out the visitor’s center, and even visit the lock and dam museum.
>> Read more & Register

Learn how to preserve your family history with these tips and guidelines on how to protect old letters and documents.
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Enjoy music played by Cross Country Classics. Free.

Dulcimer Club Meetings at Rock Springs Nature Center offer a perfect opportunity to rediscover musical interests and talents. Bring your instrument, learn a new tune or simply enjoy the musical talents of our volunteers. Free and open to the public.

Bring your camera and tripod and join us for a photography workshop! There will be a discussion inside followed by a walk outside to photograph nature in winter.
>> Read More & Register

Bluegrass Music Jam at Rock Springs Nature Center offer a perfect opportunity to rediscover musical interests and talents. Bring your instrument, learn a new tune or simply enjoy the musical talents of our volunteers. Free and open to the public.

Explore one of the greatest ancient civilizations in North America. >> Read more & register

Come out to Rock Springs Nature Center to learn how sap becomes syrup, why spring is the best time of year to harvest sap, and how people used sap throughout history. Program held hourly from 11 am to 1 pm.
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February is the perfect time of the year for skunks to start making nests and preparing for babies. Learn all about these feisty mammals and make a skunk-themed craft to take home.
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Rock Springs Nature Center is open. Business offices are closed.

Children ages 1-5 will learn about the National Bird that soars nearby and observe an eagle skull and egg.
>> Read More & Register

Macon County Conservation District Board Meeting at Rock Springs Nature Center

Children ages 1-5 will learn about the National Bird that soars nearby and observe an eagle skull and egg.
>> Read More & Register

Friends Creek Conservation Area
Join us to learn about these forest-dwelling nocturnal predators. We will discuss what makes them special, then take a hike to find some. >> Read More & Register

Dulcimer Club Meetings at Rock Springs Nature Center offer a perfect opportunity to rediscover musical interests and talents. Bring your instrument, learn a new tune or simply enjoy the musical talents of our volunteers. Free and open to the public.

Experienced singers from the Charleston-Mattoon Sacred Harp Singers will delight the public with their unique music.

Learn about the history of fire in the United States, on the Illinois landscape, and how perceptions of fire have changed over the years. We will also show how prescribed fire is currently used in Central Illinois as a management tool and how the Macon County Conservation District conducts prescribed burns.
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Did you know that some animals are most active during the times between day and night? Tag along on a hike during the dusky hours of the day to search for crepuscular animals as they begin to move around.
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