The Pajarito Environmental Education Center offers almost endless possibilities for family fun and learning, including affordable Wednesday evening programs, special events and regular playtimes, interactive exhibits and more.

Programs are held at the Los Alamos Nature Center, which the Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) operates under contract with Los Alamos County. PEEC is a nonprofit that connects people to nature through indoor and outdoor exhibits and programs. The center attracts visitors from around the country and the world.

“I think the Los Alamos Nature Center … is one of the most family friendly places in town,” said Kristen O’Hara, director of programs for PEEC. “We have a great fort building area. We have a treehouse that kids like to explore.”

O’Hara added that the center also offers hands-on activities and a children’s corner complete with puppet theater inside the science museum, a picnic area and a 1/2-mile trail that leads to an ephemeral stream in Acid Canyon.

“There’s a lot to look at down there, and it connects to a lot of trails,” O’Hara said.

The center, at 2600 Canyon Road, is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Mondays and on Wednesdays through Saturdays. The center will be closed on the Fourth of July. Admission is free, but there is a charge for some programs. To find out about upcoming programs, visit the event calendar at peecnature.org/events. For more information, visit peecnature.org or call (505) 662-0460.

Attractions and programs at the center include:

• A full-dome planetarium that is open for a walk-in sky show every Wednesday at 3 p.m. The 15-minute show is followed by a question-and-answer session with a volunteer astronomer, often a former Los Alamos National Laboratories employee.

On Saturday afternoons, full-dome family films such as “Superpower Dogs” are shown in the planetarium for an experience similar to an IMAX theater. Admission is $6 for children and $8 for adults.

• Nature Up Close events in which visitors meet one of the center naturalists to learn about local wildlife and plants. Reptiles are the focus from 11:15-11:45 a.m. on Mondays, birds from 10 a.m. to noon on Wednesdays and gardens from 10 a.m. to noon on Thursdays. On Friday mornings, quiet, gentle walks focus on discovery.
• A Children’s Discovery Area where kids can pretend to be local animals on “Discovery Mountain,” a miniature Pajarito Plateau; stage a puppet show; snuggle up with a book; or examine the world with a high-definition video microscope at the Naturalist Desk.
• Monday morning outdoor Nature Playtimes for toddlers, preschoolers and their caregivers resuming Aug. 17. Each playtime features outdoor play, sensory exploration and activities focusing on a theme in nature.
• Outdoor areas including a Nature Play Area with a giant rotary treehouse, demonstration gardens and dramatic views of views of the surrounding canyons, mesas, mountains and skies.
• A wildlife observation room, talks, classes, birthday parties and more.

PEEC has an exciting lineup of events for summer.

• A popular program is the Summer Family Evenings held at 6 p.m. every Wednesday in July. Planned topics include meeting “Spot” robot dogs from LANL on July 10. The dogs are used for bomb removal and other tasks. Scientists also are investigating possible ways they could be used in space, O’Hara said. The events are $5 per family or free for members.
• Los Alamos will hold its annual ScienceFest in mid-July, and PEEC will take part in the celebration.
• From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Aug. 24, visitors from all over Northern New Mexico are expected to turn out for an event focused on bears. “Bear Fest is our way of outreach with community members and about bears and how to protect them,” O’Hara said. “We’re a community that lives very closely with wildlife.”

Although the Nature Center has lots of play areas for young children, teens are not left out. For example, the new PEEC Nature Youth Group is made up of area high school students who meet at the center twice a month after school to work on long-term projects focused on water, fire response and wildlife, said Ryan Ramaker, visitor services manager.

The first group of nine students developed a program to deter cougars at the stables in town. Using video tracking and AI algorithms, they created a system that monitors the area, scans the data to identify mountain lions and then plays talk radio if one is found. It’s a low-impact solution, Ramaker said.

“We have a cool opportunity to connect high school students to different narratives, whether it be career paths or opportunities to have an impact on their local environment,” he said, adding the students also learn about their communities, do science outdoors and develop leadership skills.

To support PEEC and its programs, consider an annual membership. Memberships range from $35 for individuals and $50 for families to $2,500 for a lifetime individual membership. Individual members receive reciprocal benefits at 150 ANCA nature centers, 20% off most events and classes, early registrations, gift shop discounts, the Nature Notes quarterly newsletter and participation in PEEC Birders and other interest groups.