Blacklick Woods Nature Center — Attraction in Violet Township

A great place to spend an afternoon with young kids! We arrived a little after 5 and it was empty except for us. A few families came and went while we were there, but we stayed for around 90 minutes. I'm glad we wore masks because only one other family and the park ranger at the center wore masks, too.

The nature center is nestled in the woods, with a paved trail leading to it from the parking lot. It is made up of two large rooms, both with taxidermy animals and activities. The main area (where you walk in) has informational pamphlets for the park and trails, educational activities, puzzles, toys, live animals and a large aquarium.

There are more than enough things to keep busy in the main room. One whole wall is a viewing area with benches and a long table with pictures of wild animals that could be seen outside. They put feed outside on the ground and at the bird houses so you can see wild animals coming out to eat. We saw mourning doves, chickadees, and chipmunks.

The live animals consist of an American Toad, Grey Treefrogs, a Spotted Salamander, a Woodbox Turtle and another smaller turtle in a small tank, as well as the large aquarium with fish and a painted turtle.

There's a little corner with lots of animal and dinosaur toys, animal hand puppets and a puppet theater setup. This alone kept us busy for over twenty minutes. There were also various puzzles and lots of books.

The second room features taxidermy owls and a beaver. There was a large table with some sort of activity for making dead insects in resin, but we didn't look into that much.

The restroom has one stall and a sink. Everything was clean and tidy.

If you have been to the Battelle Darby Creek nature center, this one is much smaller. But I would definitely return sometime and would...

A nice spot to check out different animals they have out on display and a large aquarium with fish and turtles. It was my wife, 2 year old son and I and our first time here so I'm not sure if they have a rotation but we saw some stick bugs, tree frogs, some turtles and a snake. Our son had a blast and enjoyed looking out the windows that gave a great view to watch the birds, squirrels and chipmunks outside at a close distance without scaring them away. They have another room with pelts of various animals like squirrels, a bobcat, foxes and a black bear. It was an overall great experience and I would recommend checking it out. The trail that goes back behind the conservation center is manageable and offers lots of great scenery and I highly recommend the canopy trail. We all had a really good time with all of it and our son enjoyed the playground outside as well with a tipi made of branches and a...

My 2½ year old grandson and I were out exploring and stopped in the nature center. There was a lot to see and do, but the ranger called for all who were participating in the Tots on Trails program to start the ½ mile hike.

The ranger facilitated the discovery of worms and insects under a log, we searched for frogs in the water, and we even discovered a salamander. He brought along a skull, tail, and pelt of a beaver to see the teeth and touch the pelt and tail. He also had a piece of wood that had been chewed by a beaver.

This was a great nature experience for kids who might not yet be sitting and listening as well in an...