List of nature centers in Wisconsin
This is a list of nature centers and environmental education centers in the state of Wisconsin.
To use the sortable tables: click on the icons at the top of each column to sort that column in alphabetical order; click again for reverse alphabetical order.
| Name | Location | County | Region | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aldo Leopold Nature Center | Monona | Dane | Southern Savanna | website, 94 acre main site, exhibits on renewable energy, climate science, sustainability, naturalist Aldo Leopold, phenology, weather |
| Barkhausen Waterfowl Preserve | Suamico | Brown | Lake Michigan | website, operated by the County, 920 acres of forest, meadows and wetlands, West Shores Interpretive Center |
| Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary | Green Bay | Brown | Lake Michigan | 700 acre urban wildlife refuge |
| Beaver Creek Reserve | Fall Creek | Eau Claire | Mississippi/Chippewa Rivers | website, over 400 acres, includes the Wise Nature Center, citizen science center, butterfly house, observatory, youth camp, obstacle course, field research station, and charter science school |
| Bethel Horizons Nature Center | Dodgeville | Iowa | Southern Savanna | website, located on over 548 acres bordering Governor Dodge State Park, operated by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America |
| Blue Mound State Park | Blue Mounds | Dane | Southern Savanna | 1,153 acres (467 ha) |
| Brillion Nature Center | Brillion | Calumet | Central Sands Prairie | website, located on 40 acres within the 4,800 acre Brillion Wildlife Area |
| Cable Natural History Museum | Cable | Bayfield | Lake Superior Northwoods | website, museum operates 2 nearby properties |
| Camp Five Museum | Laona | Forest | Lake Superior Northwoods | 4 acres, includes a logging and forestry museum, historic logging equipment and riverboats, a petting zoo and a nature center with animal, plant and geology displays |
| Central Wisconsin Environmental Station | Amherst Junction | Portage | Central Sands Prairie | website, 200-acre teaching and learning center about the environment, operated by the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point College of Natural Resources |
| Chippewa Moraine State Recreation Area | New Auburn | Chippewa | Mississippi/Chippewa Rivers | 3,063 acres, exhibits about the area's geology, natural and cultural history |
| Cook-Albert Fuller Nature Center at The Ridges Sanctuary | Baileys Harbor | Door | Lake Michigan | 1600 acre preserve |
| Crossroads at Big Creek | Sturgeon Bay | Door | Lake Michigan | website, 125-acre preserve, features indoor and outdoor laboratories, a greenhouse, a specialized botanical and environmental library, an observatory and astronomy center, a historical center developed and maintained by the Door County Historical Society, offers experience-based programs in science, history and the environment for learners of all ages |
| Devil's Lake State Park Nature Center | Baraboo | Sauk | Southern Savanna | 9,217 acres, known for its 500-foot-high (150 m) quartzite bluffs along the 360-acre (150 ha) Devil's Lake, exhibits on park's geology and natural history |
| Fallen Timbers Environmental Center | Black Creek | Outagamie | Central Sands Prairie | website, 456 acres, owned by six area school districts and operated by CESA 6, hands-on learning for students |
| Florence County Wild Rivers Interpretive Center | Florence | Florence | Northern Highland | website, exhibits and programs about the natural history of Northern Wisconsin, also area tourism information |
| Gitche Gumee Nature Center in Pattison State Park | Superior | Douglas | Lake Superior Northwoods | 1,225 acres, exhibits about the park's cultural and natural history |
| Gordon Bubolz Nature Preserve | Appleton | Outagamie | Central Sands Prairie | website, 775 acres |
| Havenwoods State Forest | Milwaukee | Milwaukee | Lake Michigan | 237 acres, includes Environmental Awareness Center, urban arboretum, trails, education garden |
| Hawthorn Glen | Milwaukee | Milwaukee | Lake Michigan | website, 23-acre nature center, features nature museum, live native animals, operated by the City |
| Hawthorn Hollow | Somers | Kenosha | Lake Michigan | website, 40 acre nature sanctuary and arboretum, owned and operated by the Hyslop Foundation |
| Heckrodt Wetland Reserve | Menasha | Winnebago | Central Sands Prairie | website, 76 acre urban nature reserve |
| High Cliff State Park | Sherwood | Calumet | Central Sands Prairie | 1,187 acres, located on Lake Winnebago, seasonal General Store Museum and nature programs |
| Horicon National Wildlife Refuge | Mayville | Dodge | Southern Savanna | Over 21,000 acres, features the Horicon Marsh International Education Center |
| House In The Wood | Delavan | Walworth | Southeast Glacial Plains | website, outdoor education and retreat center, features live animals, 23 acres of lakeshore, forest, prairie and marsh habitats |
| Hunt Hill Audubon Sanctuary | Sarona | Washburn | Lake Superior Northwoods | website, 400 acres of forests, meadow, bogs and glacial lakes |
| International Crane Foundation | Baraboo | Sauk | Southern Savanna | Live crane exhibits, an interactive education center, guided and self-guided tours, a research library, visitor center, over four miles of hiking trails set among 100 acres of restored tall grass prairie, oak savanna, and wetlands |
| Interstate Park Ice Age Interpretive Center | Saint Croix Falls | Polk | Lake Superior Northwoods | Wisconsin park is 1,330 acres (538 ha) and the Minnesota park is 298 acres |
| Jordan Park Nature Center | Stevens Point | Portage | Central Sands Prairie | website, 271 acres, operated by the County |
| Kemp Natural Resources Station | Woodruff | Oneida | Lake Superior Northwoods | website, 235 acres, research and teaching facility operated by the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences of the University of Wisconsin at Madison |
| Kettle Moraine State Forest | Campbellsport | Fond du Lac | Central Sands Prairie | Henry S. Reuss Ice Age Visitor Center located in the Northern Unit, exhibits to learn about the frozen history of Wisconsin and the effects of the glacier |
| Kickapoo Valley Reserve | La Farge | Vernon | Mississippi/Chippewa Rivers | website, 8,569 acres, trails, visitor center with exhibit gallery, environmental education classes |
| Lac Lawrann Conservancy | West Bend | Washington | Southern Savanna Region | website, 137-acre nature preserve, outdoor education programs, plans for learning center |
| Ledge View Nature Center | Chilton | Calumet | Central Sands Prairie | 105 acres, operated by the County |
| MacKenzie Center | Poynette | Columbia | Southern Savanna | website, 250 acres, includes logging and conservation museums, native Wisconsin wildlife, an observation tower and an arboretum |
| Marsh Haven Nature Center | Waupun | Dodge | Southern Savanna | website, located at the north end of Horicon Marsh |
| Maywood | Sheboygan | Sheboygan | Lake Michigan | website, 135 acre city-owned park with an arboretum, ecology center |
| Mead Wildlife Area | Milladore | Wood | Central Sands Prairie | Education programs at the Stanton W. Mead Education and Visitor Center |
| Mequon Nature Preserve | Mequon | Ozaukee | Lake Michigan | website, 438 acres with over five miles of trails, an observation tower, and the PieperPower Education Center |
| Mosquito Hill Nature Center | New London | Outagamie | Central Sands Prairie | website, operated by the County on 430 acres |
| Myrick Hixon EcoPark | La Crosse | La Crosse | Mississippi/Chippewa Rivers | website, independent, non-profit organization that works in partnership with the City of La Crosse Parks and Recreation Department |
| Navarino Nature Center | Shiocton | Outagamie | Central Sands Prairie | website, environmental education facility located within the 1,000 acre Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Navarino Wildlife Area |
| Necedah National Wildlife Refuge | Necedah | Juneau | Central Sands Prairie | 43,696-acre refuge, habitat for waterfowl and sandhill cranes, visitor center exhibits, programs |
| Neustadter Nature Center at Collins Marsh | Collins | Manitowoc | Lake Michigan | website, 4,200 acre state wildlife area, facilities include a nature center open by appointment, a screened-in shelter and 110 foot tower |
| Norskedalen Nature and Heritage Center | Coon Valley | Vernon | Mississippi/Chippewa Rivers | 400 acres, includes preserved original late 19th century log and stone buildings, artifacts brought with the settlers from Norway, Native American artifacts, a hands-on nature room, an arboretum, and the Skumsrud Heritage Farm |
| Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest | Sayner | Vilas | Lake Superior Northwoods | Crystal Lake Nature Center at Crystal Lake Campground, over 232,000 acres |
| North Lakeland Discovery Center | Manitowish | Vilas | Lake Superior Northwoods | website, includes 12 miles of trails |
| Northwoods Wildlife Center | Minocqua | Oneida | Lake Superior Northwoods | website, wildlife rehabilitation center with resident animals, guided tours and education programs |
| Point Beach State Forest | Two Rivers | Manitowoc | Lake Michigan | Open weekday afternoons from Memorial Day through Labor Day |
| Pringle Nature Center | Bristol | Kenosha | Lake Michigan | website, located within the 197 acre Bristol Woods County Park |
| Raptor Education Group | Antigo | Langlade | Lake Superior Northwoods | Tours available in the summer of the raptor rehabilitation area |
| Retzer Nature Center | Waukesha | Waukesha | Southern Savanna | website, 335 acres, operated by the County |
| Richard Bong State Recreation Area | Kansasville | Racine | Lake Michigan | Molinaro Visitor Center features displays, live animals and hands-on exhibits about the recreation area |
| River Bend Nature Center | Racine | Racine | Lake Michigan | 743 acres |
| Riveredge Nature Center | Saukville | Ozaukee | Lake Michigan | website, 389 acres of prairies, forests, ponds and marshes along the Milwaukee River |
| Sanderling Nature Center at Kohler-Andrae State Park | Sheboygan | Sheboygan | Lake Michigan | 988 acres |
| Schlitz Audubon Nature Center | Milwaukee | Milwaukee | Lake Michigan | website, 185 acres along the shore of Lake Michigan |
| Schmeeckle Reserve | Stevens Point | Portage | Central Sands Prairie | 275 acres, located on the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point |
| Seno Woodland Education Center | Burlington | Kenosha | Lake Michigan | website, operated by the Kenosha/Racine Land Trust, education for schools, educators, landowners about forestry and the national habitats of forest, prairie and wetland |
| Thousand Islands Environmental Center | Kaukauna | Outagamie | Central Sands Prairie | website, 350 acres |
| Treehaven | Tomahawk | Lincoln | Lake Superior Northwoods | website, residential natural resources education and conference facility owned and operated by the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, College of Natural Resources |
| Trees for Tomorrow | Eagle River | Vilas | Lake Superior Northwoods | website, natural resources specialty school, programs for families, schools, groups, teachers, adults |
| University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum | Madison | Dane | Southern Savanna | 1,260 acres, visitor center exhibits, public and education programs |
| Upham Woods Outdoor Learning Center | Wisconsin Dells | Juneau | Central Sands Prairie | website, 310 acres, public and residential environmental education center, operated by the University of Wisconsin-Extension, 14 buildings including a nature center and a raptor enclosure housing educational birds of prey |
| Urban Ecology Center | Milwaukee | Milwaukee | Lake Michigan | Cares for 70 acres of urban land, offers environmental education and citizen science programs |
| Washington Island Art & Nature Center | Washington Island | Door | Lake Michigan | website, art gallery, exhibits on island natural and cultural history |
| Wehr Nature Center | Franklin | Milwaukee | Lake Michigan | website, operated by the County, located within 200 acre Whitnall Park |
| Welty Environmental Center | Beloit | Rock | Southern Savanna | website, located in Beckman Mill County Park |
| White Cedar Nature Center in Peninsula State Park | Fish Creek | Door | Lake Michigan | 3,776 acres |
| Whitefish Dunes State Park Nature Center | Sturgeon Bay | Door | Lake Michigan | 865 acres, exhibits about the ecology, geology and cultural history of the park |
| Wildwood Wildlife Park | Minocqua | Oneida | Lake Superior Northwoods | website, zoo and nature center with over 750 animals |
| Willow River State Park | Hudson | St. Croix | Mississippi/Chippewa Rivers | 2,891 acres |
| Woodland Dunes Nature Center and Preserve | Two Rivers | Manitowoc | Lake Michigan | website, nearly 1,200-acre preserve |