Pop-Up Audubon at the Prospect Park Audubon Center event image
Prospect Park Audubon Center, Prospect Park, Brooklyn

Pop-Up Audubon at the Prospect Park Audubon Center

Naturalists at the Audubon Center open up the plants and animals of the park's waterfall and streams for families with magnifying glasses.

See all this weekend's NYC picks
FreeKidsNature

The Audubon Center sits in the Beaux-Arts boathouse on the Lullwater, which is arguably the prettiest building in Prospect Park and definitely the best place in it to look at freshwater life. Naturalists staff a station outside with trays and magnifying glasses so children can see the invertebrates and plants that live in the streams and waterfall. If you are doing the Lullwater and Ravine end of the park this weekend, build the afternoon around this rather than around a snack stop.

What to expect

A drop-in station outside the Audubon Center boathouse with collection trays, magnifying glasses and naturalists who explain what is in them. Children examine plants and aquatic animals from the waterfall, streams and lake. Free and unstructured, so families come and go across the afternoon.

Good to know

  • Free and drop-in with no booking
  • The B/Q to Prospect Park, or enter from the Lincoln Road side and walk to the Lullwater
  • The boathouse has bathrooms and shade, which helps with small children
  • Aimed at primary-school-age kids with an adult
  • Runs all afternoon, so timing is flexible
  • The surrounding Lullwater and Ravine trails are worth walking afterwards

Get Saturday planned every Thursday

One email a week — the best of the NYC weekend board. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

Common questions

Where is the Audubon Center?

In the boathouse on the Lullwater in Prospect Park, on the park's eastern side.

Is there a cost?

No — the station is free and requires no registration.

How is it different from the Lakeside station?

Same programme, different location: this one runs from the Audubon Center boathouse rather than LeFrak Center at Lakeside.