Parents

Blue Jay Point offers numerous opportunities for children and families at our park.  We have many facilities available:  a playground, open play fields, picnic areas, trails, gardens, and an environmental education center with exhibits. The trails and gardens are great places to use to give your child a "Green Hour" a day. A "Green Hour" is a bit of time for unstructured play and interaction with the natural world. Learn more about how to get your child outdoors with the National Wildlife Federation's Green Hour program.

Blue Jay Point also offers special events, programs and activity boxes. Every year, we host Special Events that are great opportunities to come out to the park with your family and experience Blue Jay. We also offer environmental education programs and Discovery Boxes for children aged 3 & up. Please see the current Quarterly or click on a program title below for information on upcoming programs. To check for space availability, contact the Blue Jay Center for Environmental Education at 919-870-4330. To register, you will need to include a completed registration form and payment by mail or in person. The following series are offered monthly:

• Nature Stories – Theme-related stories and activities for parent and child aged 3-5 years. Please make other arrangements for siblings!
• Eco-Kids – A 3-day mini-camp for youngsters ages 4-5 years in which they learn about a variety of topics through crafts, hikes, stories and other activities.
• Nature Crafts – This craft series for 6-8-year-olds focuses on seasonal ideas and related crafts.
• Nature Nuts – Dare to try the new and unexpected! There will always be an environmental education or natural history component in each session of this series of programs for kids ages 9-12, but you'll have to see through the fun to know you are learning!
• Blue Jay Days – A new, daylong experience for children ages 9-12 at Blue Jay Point! Blue Jay Days are scheduled on selected traditional school calendar holiday/workday days on alternating year-round school calendar tracks. Homeschool families will also be able to take advantage of these single-day “camp-like” days. Try it out and let us know what you think!
• Family Wildlife Series – For truly "wild" families! For ages 5 and up, unless otherwise specified.
• Homeschool Series – Every "semester," Blue Jay offers a homeschool series, called Kids Conservation Corps. The series meets eight times over four months. In the fall, the series is for 9-12-year-olds, and in the spring, the series is for 6-8-year-olds. See the Summer Quarterly, published June 21, for Fall Series program information, and the Fall Quarterly, published September 21, for Spring Series program information.
• Teen Homeschool Series – Designed for teens who are being homeschooled, this program series is for ages 13–15 and will meet from 1-4 p.m. each session. Sessions will build on each other.
• Summer Mini-Camps– In June and July we offer 3-day mini-camps for 6-8- and 9-12-year-olds. Summer 2008 offerings are now published. Register now!

Special Events and/or Programs

• Junior Park Naturalist Challenge - A cooperative challenge among all 7 County parks. Beginning April 1, 2008, collect two stamps per park by attending an event, program or camp, and complete the challenge by August 1, 2009, to receive your backpack prize!
• Adventure Week Day Camp - Join park staff and kids from all over the county for a weeklong adventure as campers spend each day exploring a different Wake County Park.