We are a unique nature education facility situated on 18 acres of land adjacent to the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area. Geothermal heating/air-conditioning, porous paving, solar panels, innovative water conservation methods and a host of other features make this building environmentally-friendly and have earned it the LEED Certified Platinum designation. Each year, the Center runs over 420 programs including field trips, public programs, birthday parties, home school and scout programs. This Center was made a reality through the foresight and generosity of James and Anne Robinson. The Center continues to be partially supported by the James & Anne Robinson Foundation and is owned and operated by the Howard County Department of Recreation & Parks.

We begin accepting requests for Fall and Winter field trips the day after Memorial Day.
We begin accepting requests for Spring and Summer field trips on the 3rd Monday in August .
Please submit your request form at least one month in advance of the field trip date you are requesting. You should receive an email confirmation once your form has been submitted.
All field trip communication (confirmation forms, teachers’ packets, schedules and invoices) will be provided via email.
If you see any changes that need to be made to the schedule or the number of students and adults that will be attending the field trip, please call Kevin Costin at 410-313-0410 at least one week in advance of your trip so that the nature center can accommodate any changes. The nature center cannot guarantee accommodations for groups that fail to make requested changes known prior to the day of their trip.
We recognize that you may wish to cancel for a variety of reasons, but our policy encourages early decisions as to not affect other schools. All cancellation requests must be submitted to the Nature Center in writing at least 30 days prior to the field trip. If a field trip is cancelled less than 30 days prior to the scheduled date, the cancellation will be subject to a 20% administrative fee. The fee is calculated based on the total cost of the scheduled field trip. This policy also applies to schools that are considered a ‘no-show’ for their confirmed field trip.