Girl Scouts

The Lee and Rose Warner Nature Center, Minnesota's oldest private nature center, is located in northern Washington County and offers a wide variety of program opportunities for scouts of all ages. We offer the pre-scheduled programs as well as custom programs on a select number of dates. Call (651) 433-2427 ext. 13 to find out more about custom options.

Custom badge-based programs:

• Daisy
• Brownie
• Junior
• Cadette, Senior and Ambassador

Girl Scout Events

We're offering a limited number of pre-scheduled programs this year but also have openings to book custom programs on other dates. Call (651) 433-2427 ext. 13 to register for one of these programs or to set up a custom date. Queries about open dates can be sent to .

November 2012

NEW! Senses Skill Builder
Awards Connection: It's Your World: Senses Skill Builder
Explore your senses. We'll see how animals can identify their young though smell. We'll explore trees using touch. We'll find out about animal ears and we'll even make our own maps of how our tongues taste the world! Each girl will receive the It's Your Planet: Senses Skill Builder badge as part of the program.
Saturday, November 3, 1-3 p.m.
Price: $8.00 (plus $3 council surcharge) (No charge for adults)
Register online through council

December 2012

NEW! Brownie Starwatch
Awards Connection: WNC Original (formerly Space Explorer Try-It)
Come join us in this evening of stars, stories and telescopes and crafts. We'll start out our evening exploring the stars and constellations through stories. Learn how to find the north star, learn how to identify and remember constellations and more. If the weather permits, we'll even head outside to find our new constellation friends in the sky and look at the moon or planets through a large telescope. Every girl will receive the Stargazing fun Patch for free at the end of this two hour program. If it is cloudy we will enjoy the stars in our inflatable planetarium.
Saturday, December 15: 4:30-6:30 p.m.
Price: $8.00 (No charge for adults)
Call (651) 433-2427 ext. 13 to register.

January 2013

Snowshoe and Owl Adventure
See a live Barred Owl and a Screech Owl as you enter the majestic world of Warner in the Winter. After you see the live owls, head out on the trails for a winter hike to see the kind of places owls live. The hike, which takes you through the winter habitats of Warner, will be on snowshoes conditions permitting.
Saturday, January 12 1-3 p.m.
Price: $6.00 (No charge for adults)
Call (651) 433-2427 ext. 13 to register.

March 2013

Maple Syruping
Come learn about the only sugar native to North America in this two-hour program. Take a hike through the hardwood forests of the nature center, learn the history of maple syruping, help tap maple trees, learn how sap is refined into syrup and taste the difference between real syrup and commercial artificial syrups. You'll also get to see the ancient art of rock boiling where glowing hot rocks from a fire are used to boil sap. Unforgettable! Open to Brownie, Junior, Cadette, and Senior Girl Scouts.
Saturday, March 9, 1-3 p.m.
Price: $6.00 (No charge for adults)
Call (651) 433-2427 ext. 13 to register.

April 2013

NEW! Hiker Skill Builder (for Brownie Girl Scouts)
Awards Connection: It's Your Planet: Skill Builder (formerly Outdoor Adventurer Try-It)
Learn what it takes to hike in the woods and earn your Hiker Skill Builder Badge. We'll plan our route, learn about hiking gear and make a "walking salad" before heading out on our hike. When we reach our destination we'll use a spotting scope to spy on an active bald eagle nest and then we'll learn about leave no trace ethics before choosing a new route home. Program is two hours in length and includes the badge.
Saturday, April 13, 1-3 p.m.
Price: $8.00 (plus $3 council surcharge) (No charge for adults)
Register online though council

May 2013

Junior Canoer
Awards Connection: WNC Original
Spend 3 hours learning the basics of canoe safety. We've been teaching girls to canoe for decades and there are no houses or other distractions on the wilds of Terrapin Lake! Learn how to load and launch a canoe, use a PFD, safely change places, keep an eye on the weather, and take care of gear. You'll also learn the three basic canoe strokes once we're on the water. Experienced staff leads every program. Every girl will receive a canoe badge for free at the end of this three-hour program. This is a very popular class that fills quickly.
Price: $10 per girl, $120 minimum
Classes set up on a custom basis on multiple dates. Call for availability. (651) 433-2427 ext. 13.

NEW! Junior Kayaker
Awards Connection: WNC Original
New for 2013, Warner now offers kayaking! Learn how to get in and out of a kayak, use a PFD, paddle, keep an eye on the weather, and take care of gear. Our sit-on-top kayaks are very easy to learn how to use and provide a stable learning platform. Experienced staff leads every program. Every girl receives a kayaking patch for free at the end of this three-hour program.
Price: $10 per girl, $120 minimum
Classes set up on a custom basis on multiple dates. Call for availability. (651) 433-2427 ext. 13.

June 2013

NEW! Bugs Legacy Badge (for Brownie Girl Scouts)
Explore the world of bugs with a bug expert! We'll make a bug craft, see some of the bugs from the museum's permanent collection, sweep net in the wild prairie to find all kinds of critters that call the grasses and flowers home and we'll learn how scientists put bugs into groups so they can study and learn more about them. You'll complete everything you need to do to get the Bugs Skill Builder; each girl will receive the Bugs naturalist legacy badge as part of the program.
Saturday June 1, 1-3 p.m.
Price: $8.00 (plus $3 council surcharge) (No charge for adults)
Register online through council

Brownie Fossil Hunter
Awards Connection: WNC Original
Join a naturalist from the Lee and Rose Warner Nature Center on a fossil hunt near the banks of the Mississippi. We meet at Lilydale Regional Park in St. Paul to explore sites rich in fossils from over 400 million years ago! Take home a few fossils you find to start or add to your collection. There's no better way celebrate the beginning of summer!
Saturday, June 8, 9:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. (Brownie)
Saturday, June 8, 1-3:30 p.m. (Junior-Senior)
Price: $8.00 (No charge for adults)
Call (651) 433-2427 ext. 13 to register.