Welcome to VINS
The VINS Nature Center is open daily from 10am – 5pm.
All outdoor exhibits are open: Raptors, Songbird Aviary, Adventure Playscape, Nature Trails, and the amazing Forest Canopy Walk. Our indoor exhibits are open: Birds Are Dinosaurs, Forest Exhibit, and Reptile Room.
We highly recommend prepurchasing your admission tickets. We welcome all walk-ins.
Contact Us
Nature Center Hours
VINS Nature Center
10 AM to 5 PM Daily
Wild Bird Rehab
802.359.5000 x212
8 AM to 4:30 PM Daily
Visitor Programs
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Natural Wonders
Daily 10:30 AM
A journey of discovery through the wonders of the natural world. -
Predators of the Sky
Daily 11 AM & 3 PM
Explore the natural world through the eyes of raptors. -
Rotating Education Station
Daily 1 PM
An interactive and engaging activity in the natural world. -
Songbird Aviary Tour
Daily 2 PM
Spend some time with our songbirds as they fly around you. -
Raptor Feeding Time
Daily 2:30 PM
Join our raptor care-givers for feeding time. -
Hawk on the Walk
FRI/SAT/SUN 4 PM
Free-flight adventure with our Harris's Hawk.
Tracking Pollinators: Conservation at Home
AUGUST 9 – Pollinators are in your garden, along your hiking trails, and even along the side of the road, but many species are declining across the globe. To save them, we first need to learn more about them. Join the Vermont Center for Ecostudies (VCE) at VINS for a walk and talk through the meadow and pollinator gardens. Become more familiar with our local pollinators and efforts in the Upper Valley to conserve them, and discover ways to get involved in conservation right in your backyard.
Robert Frost Through the Seasons: Summer
AUGUST 14 – Join VINS Executive Director Alden Smith to explore the poetry of Robert Frost. Each session will be dedicated to reading and interpreting poems relevant to the season. These workshops will involve gentle trail walking through the woods and meadow of the VINS Nature Center, visiting natural spaces reminiscent of locations Frost wrote about. Poems will be sent to participants in advance of each session for those who want to read the poems ahead of time. The workshops will include walking, presentation, and discussion.
Drawing from Nature Class: Predators of the Sky
AUGUST 16 – Enjoy time sketching in the VINS raptor exhibits before the Nature Center opens to the public. You will have an opportunity to marvel at the unique adaptations of your choice of predator/scavenger from the sky, drawing them from life, aiming to express the personality and intelligence of your chosen subject.
