The brutal weather sent us to Buddie Ford in search of adventure this week. As you can see, they have hands-on activities for all ages, a story corner, animals, and exhibits about local natural history. The boys and I were able to pick all the birds we’ve seen off a bulletin board of Northern VA birds, the kids played several educational games and used a microscope, and they all observed various species of animals in tanks and cages. Be sure to watch for the puppet hidey holes, too!
When the weather permits you can also venture down the hill to the stream and hunt fossils. There is an exhibit in the nature center showing what kind of fossils you can expect to find there. Kids who are big dinosaur fans get very excited at the mention of a fossil hunt, even if the fossils in question are just the tracks of pre-historic invertebrates!
The naturalists here are so enthusiastic that it’s a pleasure to visit the nature center on any day. They are never too busy to answer questions or to talk to the kids about the animals or the displays. We’ve been many times and I’ve never felt that we got less than 100% value for our visit.There are occasionally classes being held in the main area, in which case the story area has comfortable seating and plenty of books and games to look at while you wait for the class (usually 30-45 minutes total) to finish up.
The only downside is that the front doors are automatic- which keeps parents of toddlers on their toes!
Plan your visit:
Jerome “Buddie” Ford Nature Center
5750 Sanger Ave.
Alexandria, VA
703.746.5559
