Ozark Natural Science Center

05/29/2026

🏔️ 🏔️

Happy Friday! ONSC is celebrating our Friday by showing our gratitude to our second Holt Middle School group! During our incredible two-day adventure, we were able to discover...

🌔 How the lunar cycles change throughout the month, and seeing the moon during our night hike

🪺 An awesome Turkey Vulture, roosting with her nest

🪨 Excellent sandstone formations, perfect for climbing

🌿Thank you so much, Holt Middle School, for a great week of students! We hope to see you at our summer camps!🌿

05/28/2026

🦎 🦎

Happy Thursday! At ONSC, we want to show our appreciation this Thursday to Holt Middle School for enjoying the Ozarks with us! We are grateful to have experienced...

🦉 An incredible Night Hike, accompanied by a couple of Barred Owls

🏞️ Awesome weather, perfect for hiking and creek discovery

🐢 The amazing amount of lizards, salamanders, and turtles we discovered in our field investigations

🌱Thank you all so much for visiting us, and we cannot wait to see you at our summer camps! 🌱

05/22/2026

💚 💚

Happy Friend Friday! On this lovely Friday, we want to show our appreciation for our new friends from St. Joseph Catholic School! These amazing campers joined us on a two-day exploration! We were able to make new friends with...

🦎A handful (literally) of native Ozark Zigzag Salamanders

🪲 A rare type of firefly, found on our awesome night hike

🏞️ So many different invertebrates, all found during our creek discovery

🐛 A big thank you to everyone who visited! We cannot wait to see you again at our summer camps! 🐛

05/21/2026

🌤️ 🌤️

It's Thankful Thursday here at ONSC, and we are showing our thanks to the Clear Spring School for exploring the Ozarks with us! We are specifically thankful for...

🌧️ The rain we got to experience, and the calmness of the forest after the storm

🦎 The lizards, salamanders, and turtles we learned about from our specimen

🌲 The Ozark native trees we were able to identify on our hike

💚 Thank you, Clear Spring, for adventuring with us, and we hope to see you at our summer camps!

05/20/2026

🐭✨ Wild Wednesday: Eastern Deer Mice ✨🐭
Meet the Eastern Deer Mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) — the tiny nighttime acrobat of the forest 🌙🐭

👀 Built for the Dark
Eastern Deer Mice have HUGE eyes and super-sensitive whiskers that help them explore at night without bumping into things.

🌳 Olympic-Level Climbers
These little mice can climb shrubs, trees, and even leap surprisingly far for their size. Basically…mouse parkour.

🥜 Snack Collectors
They love collecting seeds, berries, nuts, and insects, and often stash food in hidden "pantries" for later.

🏡 Nature's Tiny Architects
Deer mice build cozy nests out of grass, leaves, moss, and fur inside logs, tree holes, or abandoned bird nests.

❄️ Winter Survivors
Unlike some animals, they don't fully hibernate. Instead, they stay active all winter and rely on their secret snack stashes to survive.

🦉 Important Forest Helpers
They help spread seeds through forests and are an important food source for owls, foxes, snakes, and other wildlife.

🌲 Next time you're camping or hiking at dusk, remember: the forest floor might be full of tiny nighttime adventurers! ✨

05/17/2026

Big thanks to everyone who came out to support Ozark Natural Science Center at our annual Call of the Wild event at our Lake Fayetteville location! Everyone enjoyed great music, great food, crafts, games and science education. And we wrapped it up with a fundraising raffle.

We are grateful for all your support!

Still on the Hill Carolina Mendoza-Music The Backyard Bugs

05/16/2026

Today is the day! Tickets available online and at the door. Kids under 18 free! Come join us for food, fun, and great music!

🗓️ May 16 | ⏰ Ride for the Wild at 2 PM • Main event 4–8 PM
🎟️ Get your tickets now or at the door: www.onsc.us/call-of-the-wild

A Spring celebration benefiting Ozark Natural Science Center! Join us for an unforgettable evening of music, food, drinks, and adventure at Lake Fayetteville!

05/15/2026

🎉🌿 CALL OF THE WILD IS JUST 1 DAY AWAY! 🚴🗓️

Join us TOMORROW at Lake Fayetteville for an unforgettable evening filled with:
🎶 Live music from Carolina Mendoza, Backyard Bugs & Still on the Hill
🍔 Delicious food + drinks Kids' crafts & games
🚴 Ride for the Wild pre-event bike ride
🎁 Prizes, nature fun & community magic!

Whether you're here for the music, the mission, or the memories, you won't want to miss this!

🗓️ May 16 | ⏰ Ride for the Wild at 2 PM • Main event 4–8 PM

🎟️ Get your tickets now or at the door: www.onsc.us/call-of-the-wild

05/15/2026

🌲 🌲

Happy Friday! At ONSC, we like to celebrate our Fridays by highlighting our friends we have made. Today, we are so appreciative of our friends at St. Vincent de Paul, who explored the Ozarks with us! In our two days, we were able to experience...

🏔️ Great weather, excellent for creek-discovery and field investigations

⭐ An awesome Night Hike, accompanied by our beautiful, starry night sky

🪨 The joys of rock climbing in our sandstone outcrop

💚Thank you to our new friends, and we hope to see you at our summer camps!💚

05/14/2026

☀️ ☀️

Happy Thursday! Today, we are showing our appreciation to The New School for spending two days in nature with us! We are thankful for...

🪨 Finding incredible Crinoid and Brachiopod fossils

🏞️ Exploring the creek and identifying critters on the way

🐢 Learning how to track our native 3-Toed Box Turtles

🌿Thank you for this adventure, and we hope to see you this summer!🌿