Get In Touch With The Tennessee Environment At The Chattanooga Nature Center

Considering a visit to the Chattanooga Nature Center?

Established in 1979, the Nature Center is a safe haven for numerous species of plants and animals native to our area.

The center has a 1400 foot boardwalk that enables you to walk through a lowland forest and a seasonal wetland.

The Nature Center is also home to one of the largest tree houses in the United States, the George S. Bryan Tree House. It is built within the branches of a one hundred year old Overcup Oak tree!

The center also has what they call animal ambassadors such as federally endangered Red Wolves, Raccoons, an American Bald Eagle, Great Horned Owls and several other species of Owls, a Bobcat, two Red Tailed Hawks, several species of turtles, and snakes of the poisonous and non-poisonous varieties.

The Chattanooga Nature Center is also home to an ecologically engineered Constructed Wetland which treats all the waste from their Visitor's Center.

You will also have great views of Lookout Creek, on which you can even take a ride in one of their canoes if you like.

The Chattanooga Nature Center is home to numerous hiking trails, the Reflection Riding Arboretum and numerous gardens with a combination of indigenous plants, cultivars or hybrids of native species, and some noninvasive exotic plants that have been planted over the years.

The Chattanooga Nature Center Gardens include a Fragrance Garden, an Organic Community Garden, a Bird and Butterfly Cafe, Woodland Gardens, a Winter Garden, the Butterfly Creek Garden, the Morning Sun Garden, the Spring Courtyard Garden, a Rhododendron Garden, the Constructed Wetland Garden and the Gardens in the Wildlife Wonderland.

General Admission Prices

As of January 17, 2007, the center has very affordable admission prices.

Adults can visit the center for only $7. While children ages 4 through 11 and Senior Citizens age 65+ can gain access for just $4.

Special Group Admissions

If you have a group that would like to visit the center, you may call the center for pricing at (423) 821-1160.

Please tell them that you heard about the Chattanooga Nature Center on Chattanooga-Charm.com!

Environmental Education Programs

The Nature Center has a number of educational programs for children and families alike.

Environmental education programs are held year round, Mondays through Fridays from 9:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

Reservations for these programs need to be made at least 2 weeks in advance, but it is recommended that you reserve your spot as early as 2 to 3 months ahead since the program calendar fills up so quickly. It fills up especially fast in October, April, and May.

Chattanooga Nature Center classes provide fun learning in a "living classroom", and meet county, state, and national learning standards. The classes are taught in small groups of 12 to 15 students with one naturalist.

The CNC Programs take place, rain or shine, so you should make sure your students are dressed appropriately for the current weather conditions. If the weather happens to be too severe for outdoor classes, students will experience similar programming on your chosen topic, indoors at Nature Center facilities.

Specific Education Programs

Youths can enjoy the following programs:

Grades K-8: Caves & Critters

Grades K-3: Bonkers Over Butterflies!

Grades K-8: Discovery Hike!

Pre-Kindergarten: Self-guided Wee Hike

Kindergarten: Come to Your Senses

Grade 1: Wild Kingdom

Grades 1-2: Junior Howlers

Grade 2: The Animal / Plant Connection

Grade 3: The Balancing Act

Grades K-5: Night Hike

Grades 3-5: Pond Study

Grades 3-5: Trees are Terrific

Grades 4-5: Ecology in Action

Grade 3 - 5: On the Brink - The Endangered Red Wolf

Grades K-5: Self-Guided Exploration

Grades 3-5: Cherokee Childhood

Grades PK-2: Winter Survival

Grades K-5: Birds of a Feather

Grades K-5: Things That Go Bump in the Night

Grades K-5: Predator / Prey Connection

Grades 3-5: Animal Classification

Grades 3-5: Creepy Crawlers

Grades 4-5: Owl Pellet Dissection Lab

Chattanooga Nature Center Home School Education Programs

The Chattanooga Nature Center is now offering special yearly membership rates for Home School Groups of 25 or more families and they have 2 programs to choose from: Basic Home School Membership and Expanded Home School Membership.

You can find out more about CNC's Home School membership programs and their costs at the Chattanooga Nature Center's website.

Family Naturalist Certification Program

The Nature Center has recently developed a Family Naturalist Certification Program for families that wish to learn about nature together.

More information and costs for this program can be found at the Chattanooga Nature Center website as well.