Rum Village Nature Center — Attraction in South Bend

Best interactive place for younger kids. They had to ask us to leave cause they wanted to go home, we were there all afternoon. Totally surprised that smallish building held so much enjoyment. Kids wanted to go back next day. There was a tunnel for the kids to go through to see how animals lived underground, all kinds of educational games and a dinosaur dig that really surprised me cause they loved it and spent about an hour burying and finding the dinosaurs. Ages were 6 and 9. An additional bonus was the unlit auditorium with the back wall totally glass so not dark but made the people inside invisible to the bird and wildlife sanctuary just outside. 5 different bird feeders had lots of birds. A large poster showed some of the local birds with some description. Several squirrels also of course. Need someplace safe and educational to take the kids? This is the place. A small hike away is a fantastic playground with a roller slide, wide enough for two kids to go down at once. SO different from other local parks. This place is a hidden gem and should...

This is a little hidden gem! We love the park, but had never been into the nature center. What a great place! There are public restrooms (the initial reason for our visit) which are well cared for. There is a cure little tunnel that leads to an "animal burrow" the kids can go into and look around to see what life would be like down there. They can peek into little holes in the tunnel too, to see what types of animals might burrow in tunnels like that. There are puzzles to do, a nature touch table, and a puppet theater for kids to use. There are also small live animals to check out, including turtles, snakes, etc. You can go into the large conference room at the back to look through a huge viewing window and watch birds and other animals come to the feeders back there. What...

I love this place! My daughter is three and I love to walk her along the trails and then head to the park. It sure tires her out which is great because it's what I'm going for plus I want her to know their is a lot more to life than tv and phones. I want to be able to take her on trails and hikes when she gets older so this is a great beginner course for a toddler! I try to come here at least once a week since I found a great kid friendly...