This is a list of nature centers and environmental education centers in the state of Texas.
To use the sortable tables: click on the icons at the top of each column to sort that column in alphabetical order; click again for reverse alphabetical order.
Name Location County Region Summary Acton Nature Center of Hood County Granbury Hood North Texas website, 74 acres with over 5 miles of trails Armand Bayou Nature Center Houston Harris Texas Coastal Bend 2,500-acre urban preserve, includes a boardwalk through forest and marshes, live animal displays, bison and prairie platforms and butterfly gardens Austin Nature & Science Center Austin Travis Texas Hill Country website, operated by the City in 351-acre Zilker Park, includes hands-on educational exhibits, live native animals, an outdoor paleontology exhibit Bay Education Center Rockport Aransas Texas Coastal Bend Operated by the University of Texas at Austin Marine Science Institute, ecosystem of the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve Baytown Nature Center Baytown Harris Texas Coastal Bend Operated by the City, 450-acre recreation area and wildlife sanctuary Bear Springs Blossom Nature Center Pipe Creek Bandera Texas Hill Country , 125 acres Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park Mission Hidalgo Texas Coastal Bend 764 acres, headquarters of the World Birding Center, exhibit hall, observation tower, bird blinds, guided walks Bob Jones Nature Center Southlake Denton North Texas website, 758 acres, operated by the City Brazos Bend State Park Needville Fort Bend Texas Gulf Coast 4,897 acres, nature center operated by the state and Brazos Bend State Park Volunteer Organization Canyon of the Eagles Lodge and Nature Park Burnet Burnet Central Texas website, resort and nature park, located on 940 acres of Lower Colorado River Authority land, includes the Eagle Eye Observatory, nature programs Cattail Marsh Beaumont Jefferson Texas Coastal Bend 900 acres, located at Tyrrell Park, operated by the city. The area is a constructed wetland with diked cells of shallow water and mud flats. It is located along Hillebrandt Bayou Cedar Ridge Preserve Dallas Dallas North Texas website, formerly Dallas Nature Center, 600 acres, operated by Audubon Dallas, about 9 miles of trails, butterfly gardens, live mammals, birds, insects and reptiles Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center and Botanical Gardens Fort Davis Jeff Davis Trans-Pecos 507 acres features 20-acre botanical garden, greenhouse with about 200 species of Chihuahuan Desert cacti Cibolo Nature Center Boerne Kendall Texas Hill Country website, 100 acres Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center Cedar Hill Dallas North Texas website, 205 acres East Texas Ecological Education Center Tyler Smith Northeast Texas website, 82 acres, visitor center, indoor and outdoor classrooms, wetlands, grasslands and ponds Eaton Hill Nature Center Sonora Sutton Texas Hill Country website, 37 acres Edinburg Scenic Wetlands Edinburg Hidalgo Texas Coastal Bend website, 40 acres, part of the World Birding Center, educational exhibits on fish and aquatic life, computer programs about birds and butterflies, telescopes and interpretive audio station Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary Houston Harris Texas Coastal Bend Operated by Houston Audubon, 17 acres along Rummel Creek Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge Fort Worth Tarrant North Texas website, 3,621 acres of forest, wetlands and prairie, operated by the City Fredericksburg Nature Center Fredericksburg Gillespie Texas Hill Country website, 10 acres, located in Lady Bird Johnson Park Gulf Coast Bird Observatory Lake Jackson Brazoria Texas Coastal Bend website, interpretive center and research center for public education and volunteer-based avian monitoring programs Hana & Arthur Ginzbarg Nature Discovery Center Bellaire Harris Texas Coastal Bend website, located in 4-acre Russ Pitman Park Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary McKinney Collin North Texas Exhibits on Texas' venomous snakes, geology, seashells and marine life, North Texas ecosystems, 289-acre wildlife sanctuary with over 6 miles of trails Helotes Creek Nature Center Helotes Bexar Central Texas website Houston Arboretum and Nature Center Houston Harris Texas Coastal Bend 155 acres with over 5 miles of trails Jesse H. Jones Park & Nature Center Humble Harris Texas Coastal Bend website, operated by the County, 312 acres John Bunker Sands Wetland Center Combine Dallas County North Texas website, Private non-profit, 2,000 acres Kleb Woods Nature Center Tomball Harris Texas Coastal Bend website, 134 acres Lamar Bruni Vergara Environmental Science Center Laredo Webb Texas Coastal Bend website, part of Laredo Community College, contains representations of the Rio Grande ecosystem and live specimens of plant and animal life Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area Lewisville Denton North Texas website, operated by the University of North Texas, Texas A&M University, the City of Lewisville, and the Lewisville Independent School District, over 2000 acres with over 7 miles of trails Matagorda County Birding Nature Center Bay City Matagorda Texas Coastal Bend website, 34 acres McAllen Nature Center McAllen Hidalgo Rio Grande Valley , 33 acres, two miles of trails, operated by McAllen Parks & Recreation Department, This is an important site, both for wildlife, and for people, as less than 3% of the native habitat remains in the Rio Grande Valley. McKinney Roughs Nature Park Bastrop Bastrop Central Texas website, 1,100 acres, operated by the Lower Colorado River Authority, includes the Mark Rose Natural Science Center Meadows Center for Water and the Environment San Marcos Hays Texas Hill Country Part of Texas State University, features glass-bottomed boat tours of the San Marcos Springs, a discovery hall and aquarium exhibit; formerly the Aquarena Center Miller Springs Nature Center Lake Belton Bell Texas Hill Country website, A 260-acre scenic natural area located between the Leon River and nearby 40 foot high bluffs with 10.7 miles of hike and bike trails through prairie, wetlands and forests. Mitchell Lake Audubon Center San Antonio Bexar Central Texas website, 1,200 acres including the 600-acre Mitchell LakeNational Butterfly CenterMissionHidalgoRio Grande Valley100 acres, butterfly conservation, habitat conservation, native plant sanctuary, trails, butterfly center, and educational toursNorth Texas Wildlife CenterPlanoCollin CountyNorth TexasNorth Texas Wildlife Center (NTXWC) is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization committed to the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of local injured or orphaned wildlife. Oso Bay Wetlands Preserve and Learning Center Corpus Christi, Texas Nueces County, Texas South Texas website Rio Bravo Nature Center Eagle Pass Maverick West Texas website, environment of the Rio Grande River Bend Nature Center (Texas) Wichita Falls Wichita North Texas website, 18 acres River Legacy Nature Center Arlington Tarrant North Texas website, adjacent 1,300-acre River Legacy Parks Riverside Nature Center Kerrville Kerr Texas Hill Country 9 acres, arboretum with wildlife and native plant sanctuary, located on the Guadalupe River Sabal Palm Sanctuary Brownsville Cameron Texas Coastal Bend Owned by the National Audubon Society and operated by the Gorgas Science Foundation, 557 acres, guided tours of the late 19th-century plantation house San Angelo Nature Center San Angelo Tom Green Edwards Plateau website, operated by the City, collection of native animals San Marcos Nature Center San Marcos Hays Texas Hill Country website, operated by the City in the 6-acre Crook Park, focus is the San Marcos River watershed ecosystem Sea Center Texas Lake Jackson Brazoria Texas Coastal Bend website, marine aquarium, fish hatchery and nature center operated by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center Orange Orange Texas Coastal Bend 252 acres, includes themed gardens, children's garden, wetlands demonstration garden, Victorian greenhouse, exhibit hall Sibley Nature Center Midland Midland West Texas website, located in the 49-acre Hogan Park Sims Bayou Urban Nature Center Houston Harris Texas Coastal Bend website, operated by Houston Audubon, 1.1 acres, includes a log cabin, barn, gazebo, boat dock and seasonal wetland trails, open by appointment South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center South Padre Island Cameron Texas Coastal Bend website, 50 acres of dune meadows, salt marsh and intertidal flats, part of the World Birding Center South Padre Island Dolphin Research and Sea Life Nature Center South Padre Island Cameron Texas Coastal Bend website, focus in bottlenose dolphins and their marine environment South Texas Botanical Gardens & Nature Center Corpus Christi Nueces Texas Coastal Bend 180 acres, includes a butterfly house and bromeliad conservatory Spring Creek Greenway Nature Center Spring Montgomery East Texas website, adjacent to the 25-acre Peckinpaugh Preserve Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center Athens Henderson East Texas website, includes a production fish hatchery, aquaria and exhibits, Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame, Richard M. Hart and Johnny Morris Conservation Center Trinity River Audubon Center Dallas Dallas North Texas 120 acres with 5 miles of trails Twelve Hills Nature Center Dallas Dallas North Texas website, urban preserve and outdoor classroom Valley Nature Center Weslaco Hidalgo Texas Coastal Bend 6 acres, focus on getting children outdoors, environment of the lower Rio Grande Valley Westcave Outdoor Discovery Center Round Mountain Travis Texas Hill Country website, 75 acres, exhibits on area geology, water, weather, and energy and their connection to the Preserve's plants and animals Wildcat Bluff Nature Center Amarillo Potter Texas Panhandle website, over 600 acres, 5 miles of trails, 5 acre accessible trail with pond, spring, and paleontology exhibit. Education building, visitor center. Focus on prairie ecosystems, outdoor education, and natural and human history of the Texas Panhandle. Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve Austin Travis Texas Hill Country 227 acres with an environmental education center, operated by St. Edward's University, open to the public for trail hiking and events
References
External links Map of nature centers and environmental education centers in Texas