Sourcehcp1.net →Verified May 18, 2026Government source
"Many kids don't get a lot of time outside or with live animals. These free programs fill that gap. They build science skills, spark curiosity, and help kids understand the plants, animals, and ecosystems right here in the Houston area."
For more than 25 years, Harris County Precinct 1's Environmental Education Program has offered hands-on natural science learning for Harris County youth. Programs include Discovery Camp, the Traveling Naturalist Program, Junior Naturalist Club, and Polliwog Club. Activities range from nature hikes and live animal encounters to crafts and games. Programs run at schools, recreation centers, libraries, and two learning centers — Alexander Deussen and El Franco Lee.
For more than 25 years, our Environmental Education Program has brought innovative, hands-on learning experiences in natural sciences to Harris County youth. Our unique programs bring classroom lessons to life through up-close field investigations into the ecosystems and wildlife of the Texas Gulf Coast. Our Alexander Deussen and El Franco Lee Learning Centers offer the perfect atmosphere for a variety of educational outdoor programs. Participants are sure to come home with a host of new and exciting experiences to share with their family and friends.
Discovery Camp, a summertime endeavor, serves youth who participate in recreation centers in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods. It’s designed to continue learning experiences during the summer months. Discovery Camp enables youth to participate in activities such as nature hikes, animal programs, crafts, and games that develop their natural curiosity and inquiry. They learn to identify and understand wildlife, habitats, and conservation ideas. Discovery Camp also helps them to recognize the roles that plants, animals, and people play in an ecosystem.
In order to measure the camp’s educational value, each child is given a quiz, both upon arrival and at the day’s end. This allows the naturalists to evaluate how much academic growth the children accomplish throughout the day.
The Traveling Naturalist Program is designed to teach children about the wonders of the natural world and its inhabitants. Naturalists visit your school or recreational center so that they will present a 45-minute educational program of your choosing that will include live animals. Children learn to appreciate nature and their environment by interacting with exotic and native animals. Unique programming is designed to enhance the curriculum of science and biology classes in schools and recreation centers across Harris County.
We also produced a video series, where Naturalists will tell you about some of the many animals that we bring into science classes and youth groups across our area as part of our program.
VIDEOS can be found on our YouTube channel.
Our Junior Naturalist Program is a bi-monthly after-school program designed to reach out to children who participate in local recreational centers within Precinct One during the school year. It is designed to bring the wonders of nature and the outdoors into a “classroom” environment in order to enhance the children’s curiosity and excitement for the world around them.
Participating centers receive a series of program topics designed around a common theme. With each lesson, our naturalists supply each center with applicable activities in the form of games, booklets, puzzles, and/or arts and crafts to help reinforce the concepts taught and previous visits.
Polliwog Club brings an interactive approach to teaching environmental and zoological concepts through children’s literature, songs, crafts, and hands-on time with our unique animals. Through partnerships with public libraries, daycares, elementary schools, and other early childhood development centers within Precinct One, the program is offered as a series of classes with a curriculum designed to reinforce concepts taught in the previous session.
- Visit the HCP1 Environmental Education page to learn about each program
- Ask your school, rec center, or library if they already partner with HCP1
- Request a Traveling Naturalist visit for your school or youth group
- Watch the free animal video series on HCP1's YouTube channel
- Check for summer Discovery Camp availability at your local rec center
- Share this resource with teachers, librarians, or parents of young kids
