A series of nature programs continues this week at the two state parks in the northern Panhandle.
Park naturalist Jami Campbell will lead eight family-friendly programs at Chadron State Park and Fort Robinson State Park on Thursday, June 5, through Saturday, June 7.
The action will start at Chadron State Park’s Trading Post on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. with a program about snakes. At 5:30 p.m. she will tell about the tiniest creatures in the prairies and forests.
The programming moves to Fort Robinson on Friday, where people can meet at the Post Playhouse to hike for tracks and scat at 9:30 a.m. At 2:30 p.m. near the Activities Center will be the program about tiny creatures. The day will wrap up at the same location with a joint presentation with staff from the Hudson-Meng Bison Kill Site. They will tell about early settlers on the prairie at 7 p.m.
On Saturday, Campbell and wildlife biologist Shelley Steffl will lead a guided hike about wildflowers in the Mexican Canyon area of the park. Vehicles will meet at the Post Playhouse at 9:30 a.m. and caravan to the site of the hike.
At 1:30 p.m., the topic will turn to insects followed by snakes at 4 o’clock. Both presentations will be near the Activities Center.
The summer series will continue the following week with another set of programs at both parks.
The events are open to the public free of charge, but vehicles are required to have a Nebraska park entry permit. The permit can be purchased online at www.outdoornebraska.org or at each park’s headquarters.