a white logo with text at the bottom saying Helen Woodward Animal Center. There are two kids with dogs, a horse, a bird and cats under a tree.

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Family Seasonal Events

  • Celebrate the seasons with animals in two unforgettable ways! Our Family Festivals: including Animal Buddies Family Festival, Howl-O-Ween Family Festival, and Wild Winter Family Festival. We invite families to enjoy a FREE Community event full of hands-on animal encounters, crafts, games, and seasonal fun!

 

  • Our Private Adventures, like Spring Adventures and Autumn Adventures, offer customized animal experiences designed for schools, scouts, and groups seeking a more personal, educational visit. No matter the season, there’s always a wild way to explore, learn, and make memories!

Click a button below to jump to your event and learn more.

Spring Events
Autumn Events
Wild Winter

Animal Buddies Family Festival

  • Animal Buddies Family Festival, is a FREE community celebration full of hands-on animal encounters, cheerful activities, and springtime smiles! This lively event features meet-and-greets with our animal ambassadors, creative crafts to make and take home, themed games, face painting, and so much more. Families can also explore booths from local sponsored vendors, adding even more excitement and community fun to the day. Come dressed in your favorite spring-inspired outfits and get ready to make memories together—because smiles, laughter, and animal magic are guaranteed at Animal Buddies.

Spring Adventures

  • Spring Adventures – Perfect for class field trips, Scout outings, and private group experiences, Spring Adventures turn science into a hands-on seasonal journey! Join us for a 60- or 90-minute interactive program featuring up-close animal encounters, engaging STEAM activities, and appropriate age lessons focused on life cycles, baby animals, and the fascinating changes that happen in spring. Designed to spark curiosity and connection.
  • Schools: Spring Adventures incorporates STEAM and meets Next Generation Science Standards for grades K-6th. We can also bring this program to your classroom, so cut down on bus costs and scheduling headaches and let us come to you!

 

Dates, prices, and more details when you click on one of the “Book Spring Tails” buttons.

Book a Spring Adventure
Four small children sit on a grey and white striped blanket while one little girl with blonde hair pets a large white and grey bunny

Autumn Events

Howl-O-Ween Harvest Family Festival

  • Howl-O-Ween harvest Family Festival, is a FREE community celebration filled with hands-on animal encounters, festive fall crafts, themed games, face painting, trick-or-treat stations, and other sponsored booth activities throughout our Humane Education Campus. Meet animal ambassadors, pick out a mini pumpkin to take home, and enjoy a not-so-spooky day of discovery that’s perfect for preschool through elementary-aged kids. Costumes encouraged—family fun guaranteed!

Autumn Adventures

  • Autumn Adventures: This is the perfect program for a class field trip, Scout outing, or private group activity because it makes science Spoo-tacular! Crawl on over for a 60-minute or 90-minute adventure that includes hands-on animal interactions, a STEAM activity, and lessons about discovering what makes our “creepy” critters not so scary!
    • Schools: Autumn Adventures incorporates STEAM and meets Next Generation Science Standards for grades K-6th. We can also bring this program to your classroom, so cut down on bus costs and scheduling headaches and let us come to you!

 

Dates, prices, and more details when you click on one of the “Book Howl-O-Ween Harvest” buttons.

Book Howl-O-Ween Harvest Family Festival
Book an Autumn Adventure
Three little girls and their Mom, with their buckets of candy, are all dressed up for Halloween as a black and purple cat, an orange and black butterfly and a princess with a yellow dress.

Wild Winter Family Festival

Bundle up and join us for a holly-jolly day of winter fun at our Wild Winter Family Festival! This FREE community celebration invites families to enjoy hands-on animal encounters, festive winter crafts, cookie decorating, and writing heartfelt letters to Santa—all set within our Humane Education Campus transformed for the season. Step into Santa’s cozy workshop for a special visit, snap cheerful photos, and watch the magic unfold as animal ambassadors help spread holiday cheer. Plus, every child will head home with a FREE gift from Santa, making this winter celebration one your family won’t forget!

 

Dates, prices, and more details when you click on the “Book Wild Winter Family Festival” button.

Book Wild Winter Family Festival
A man in a red sweater and a woman in a grey turtleneck sweater sitting next to a Christmas tree while holding their toddler aged son.
Book Now

Your program fee helps support all of our adoptable animals, as well as the many human and animal services Helen Woodward Animal Center provides.

For more information:
Please contact us at education@animalcenter.org or 858-756-4117 ext. 406

Follow us online to get more humane education virtually including animal facts, cute animal photos and videos, and notifications about upcoming programs!

Due to Hurricane Hilary, all  departments will be closing at 3pm today.  Stay safe!