Open house events are set at Central Park

   Mark your calendars for Central Park Nature Center Holiday Open House days in Decemer.

   Remaining dates are Wednesday, Dec. 11 and 18, from 1 to 4 p.m.; and Saturday, Dec. 21, 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

   Check out the December and January Nature Center theme: Snow Fun! Take your time investigating our interactive displays and activities. Make a craft of the day and sit a spell while you enter our winter coloring contest.

   If we have four or more inches of snowpack, check out a pair of snowshoes and head outside to explore the trails of Central Park. No snow? Take a hike along our Jones County Wild for Reading StoryWalk Trail, featuring the book “Once Upon a Winter Day” by Liza Woodruff; or drive around the park to look for wildlife and participate in the Central Park Holiday Digital Scavenger Hunt to win a prize.

   Visit Central Park on Saturday, Dec. 21 to watch the runners participating in the B&W Racing Services, LLC Annual Polar Run 5K, 800-meter Candy Cane 10-and-under kids’ run, and Reindeer Plunge that will be occurring in the park with events staggered from 12:45 to 2 p.m. (Runner’s registration link found on their Facebook page.)

   Before you go, have a holiday treat and cup of hot chocolate courtesy of the Friends of Jones County Conservation and Nature Center.  Bring the whole family for some holiday fun.

   Visit https://www.jonescountyiowa.gov/conservation/ for more information on upcoming programs and events.