HALLOWEEN – OPPORTUNITY FOR OUTREACH, EDUCATION, AND FUN

Several area nature centers are taking advantage of their abundant supply of creepy crawlies and spooky settings to host Halloween parties. The events are designed to be enjoyable, with a little education thrown in, but have proven to be unexpectedly successful at bringing new visitors to attractions.

Jesse H. Jones Park and Nature Center held its first Halloween party last year and a diverse crowd of about 1,500 children and adults attended. The road to the park goes through a residential neighborhood, but many of the park’s neighbors had never been there until last year’s party, said volunteer coordinator Lacey Ogburn.

This Saturday, the Redbud Hill Homestead will be haunted from 6 to 8:30 pm. “It is not scary,” Ogburn said. “The event is free, and there will be a hayride into the woods and wild creatures on the homestead trail. We encourage trick-or-treaters with or without costumes, but – since there is a new moon – everyone will need to bring a flashlight.”

Other spooky events at the park in the next two weeks include a talk about unusual insects and snakes, a bat-house-making party, and a lecture and show of carnivorous plants from around the world.

Bats are the subject of several weekend talks, including talks for children this Saturday morning at the Houston Arboretum. “We talk about a different animal each month, and Halloween and bats go together,” Lori Hudson said. “This year, bats have been in the news so much because of bad events that we welcome this opportunity to educate.”

On Saturday, Oct 28, the park will be transformed into the Houston Ar-BOO-Retum for a nature festival from 4 to 8:30 pm. There is a lunar theme, so educational activities will focus on how nature interacts with our moon. There will be trick-or-treating along a forest trail, live owls, face painting, and more.

“Part of the fun of this event is that we are not usually open at night,” Hudson said. “We had a lot of visitors who don’t usually come to the arboretum and some have come back,” she said.

The Houston Zoo has been celebrating Halloween with the “Zoo Boo” for the past thirteen years. This weekend and next, from noon to 5 pm, the zoo will feature the kid-friendly “Happy Haunt”, more than three hundred carved pumpkins, trick or treating, a howling contest, magicians, a special sea lion show, and more, all included in the regular price of admission.

Brian Hill, the zoo’s public affairs officer, says, “The primary focus is fun, but we work education in as well. The “keeper chats” focus on conservation and the caretakers talk about animal enrichment activities. Since parents are there, too, we get an opportunity to talk to both parents and kids.”

Hill said the zoo does not have to highlight the creepy exhibits. “Kids find them and drag the adults. Kids seem to like talking about how creeped out dad was in the reptile house.”

In case of rain, the “Halloween Mansion” at the Children’s Museum is open every day through Halloween.

Details of all these and other events can be found on the CEC website.