Shaver's Creek Environmental Center is located between State College and

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, in the Stone Valley Recreation Area. This is part of the Penn State Experimental Forest. The center operates on and contains , freshwater Lake Perez. Each year more than 100,000 people visit the center, which is open daily from February 1 to December 15 (excluding Thanksgiving). The Environmental Center contains an amphitheater; classrooms; Welcome Center, Pennsylvania Nature Book and Gift Shop; herb and flower gardens; picnic areas;

raptor Raptor or RAPTOR may refer to: Animals The word "raptor" refers to several groups of bird-like dinosaurs which primarily capture and subdue/kill prey with their talons. * Raptor (bird) or bird of prey, a bird that primarily hunts and feeds on ...

center; and other displays and exhibits. Shaverscreek

Outdoor School

Shaver's Creek Outdoor School is a 50-year-old program that aims to provide upper elementary school-aged children with a positive outdoor experience. Outdoor School is a four-day, three-night residential program in which Penn State students give lessons in topics of outdoor education. Students come from

Centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

, Huntingdon, Mifflin, and other central Pennsylvania areas.

The Raptor Center

The Shaver's Creek Raptor center houses over 20 birds of prey, all of which have sustained permanent injuries which make them unfit for release back into the wild. The only exception is the

American kestrel The American kestrel (''Falco sparverius''), also called the sparrow hawk, is the smallest and most common falcon in North America. It has a roughly two-to-one range in size over subspecies and sex, varying in size from about the weight of ...

, who was an illegally raised pet prior to finding a place with Shaver's. The Raptor Center at Shaver's Creek is open to the public daily.

The Birding Cup

The Birding cup is a fundraising tournament held once a year at Shaver's Creek Environmental Center. The contest calls for teams of at least three birders to identify as many species of birds as they can within a 24-hour period. Contestants are required to remain within the parameters of

, Centre, and adjoining counties of Central Pennsylvania. Following the contest, awards are given at Millbrook Marsh Nature Center in

State College, Pennsylvania State College is a home rule municipality in Centre County in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is a college town, dominated economically, culturally and demographically by the presence of the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania Sta ...

, in several categories: The Birding Cup (the team which identifies the most species overall); The County Cup (the team that identifies the most species while only searching one county); The Potter Mug (the best team on which at least half of the members have only two years of birding experience); and The Birding Boot (the best team that travels only by non-motorized means, such as biking, hiking, or canoeing).

References

External links

{{Protected areas of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania State University Nature centers in Pennsylvania Parks in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania Education in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania Protected areas of Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania