Quechee, VT – The Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) invites children and adults alike to our 14th Annual Hoots & Howls event on Saturday, October 27, at the VINS Nature Center in Quechee, Vermont. Hoots & Howls returns this year with another “spook-tacular,” fun-filled, family day and evening of exciting adventures. A host of other activities, guaranteed to add spice to this year’s festivities, will run from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm.
Hoots & Howls is a full day, family friendly event. Each portion of the day is designed to be educational, nature-based, non-frightening, and fun! Together we will get up close to snakes, owls, skulls and bones. In addition, there will be opportunities to create crafts and have ooey-gooey Halloween fun all day long! The evening portion includes a guided tour through multiple stations where you will enjoy stories, experiments, puppetry and a skit. The center will be lit with Jack-o-Lanterns and you can wrap up the evening with Tricky Treats.
Some highlights of the day along with our regularly scheduled raptor programs:
Spooky Crafts / 10:00am – 4:00pm
Stop in and make a Halloween-themed nature craft to decorate your home for this fall holiday.
Face Painting / 11:00am – 4:00pm
An owl mask, a bat on the back of your hand, or a creepy spider crawling up your arm – come get in character for Hoots & Howls!
Scary Science Station / 1:30pm – 3:30pm
Ever wonder how spiders digest the flies they catch in their webs? What’s the strongest structure you can build with toothpicks and Halloween candy? Let’s find out!
Skulls & Bones / 1:00pm – 4:00pm
Discover how much you can learn from skulls and bones in this ongoing hands-on activity.
Peeps & Squeaks / 4:30pm – 5:30pm
Enjoy a puppet show, crafts, songs, and edible owl pellets in this interactive program for young audiences. You’ll get to meet a live owl up close. “Owl” see you there!
Tours & Tricky Treats / 5:30pm – 8:00pm
Join us on a guided tour as we visit four stations around the center to be entertained by master storyteller Simon Brooks, perform spooky science experiments, observe engaging puppetry with Lindsay and Her Puppet Pals, and watch a comical nature skit. At the end of your tour, you’ll have an opportunity to eat some yummy tricky treats and enjoy a live bird encounter in our pavilion.
Thank you to our sponsors: A to Z Cakes, Cedar Circle Farm, Co-op Food Stores of NH & VT, Pizza Chef of Quechee, Riverview Farm, and Walmart.