river bend nature center

This nature center was really nice. It's a simple center but the staff guides you through half of the facility which makes it a fun and educational experience. Our 1.5 year old loved it. I think one area of improvement might be adding a little more wildlife.

We went to visit the center's "Electric Critters". We enjoyed it very much. The staff is friendly and they have a wider arrange of displays than I was expecting.They have a cute little shop where kids can visit the Clause Clan and pick up a candy cane. They also have an old fashioned wagon lit up that kids can board and hear a story. For a small city and a nonprofit, I was pleasantly surprised by this charming spectacle. My son had tons of fun. When the event is over you can go inside and enjoy popcorn and cider. A nice way to spend time with your kids and enjoy the season while supporting a worthwhile cause.

We have visitied for events, had birthday parties here and attended weddings here. The place always has something different to offer.

We took our just turned 3 year old grandson here for the first time for all of us. We are seniors so we purchased a year's membership for all three of us, it was that wonderful. Full of interesting exhibits, Kid friendly, informed docent, many live animals, snakes, turtles, prairie dogs and the wonderful butterfly exhibit. Also grand gift shop. Only problem we had to walk through the gift shop to get in and out! Grandson spied many things he wanted!!! We loved the experience, the friendliness of Kevin and his wonderful knowledge of the animals and plants mostly native to the area. The roadrunner was really funny and Kevin fed him his lunch for us. Worth the trip for sure. We will go back.

On a trip with an overnight/half day stopover in Wichita Falls, we stopped here on a whim after seeing it is the top rated attraction in Wichita Falls. We were very impressed by the whole place and experience! It deserves its spot as the top attraction in town. Admission is reasonably priced. We went with our kids, ages 5 and 1. It is perfect for my very inquisitive and science minded 5 year old. A very kind and knowledgable man was our docent, and he did a fantastic job. He had lots of patience with my son but also kept the grow ups interested. He allowed my son and daughter to look closely at several insects and animals in the first room, and he really cared about the animals they have in the center. He also showed us different plants in the large indoor exhibit and let us smell the leaves. My son and I were able to spend an extended time in the butterfly garden, which is very peaceful and interesting. Also great is the scavenger hunt for kids and the discovery backpacks they check out to kids for free. Inside are things like a magnifying glass, measuring tape, things to do bark rubbings, and more. The outdoor part was really nice too, with the digging box perfect for my kids to dig up fossilized cow bones. The paved trail is pleasant as well. This is a real hidden gem and well worth the stop on your trip. The facility is also top notch. The only thing that could improve would be better signs showing you where it is located. We almost didn't see the sign, and there aren't any real info signs showing you how to get here from the major highways, at least that we saw. Thanks for a great experience!

The staff are extremely helpful and informative. This is a great place to spend a couple hours. Especially educational for children since they can touch the reptiles.

Decided to check it out one afternoon and had a great time. Very relaxing walking down the trails and inside the people were quite polite and informative. Want to entertain some kids? Have em burn energy on the trails and then check out the snakes on the inside.

We had such a wonderful time there! But probably it wouldn't have been that way without the invaluable help of their nice crew. They were all awesome! My 4 yr old boy had a blast. They let us pet the snakes, the rats, the butterflies, and even some odd turtles. We learned a lot. Something that really amazed me was the energy and love with which every member referred to the animals there. I can tell they love what they do. Keep it up guys!

A very pleasant spot for the Wichita Falls area. Especially good for kids, but a nature lover of any age could thing things of interest,

Barbara was our guide and she made the whole trip so interesting. Telling us about the animals and butterflies. Our daughter was beyond excited. The exhibits were interactive and engaging. This place is a complete gem. Very beautiful and tranquil grounds. We saw various animal tracks and even found a real fossil. We got to release butterflies and hold and pet the animals. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone. The staff is friendly and You and your kids will have a blast.

My family and me had unforgettable experience in this place. So much fun and joy to see passion for work, kindness and friendliness of staff. We had Kevin (very nice, polite and knowledgeable guy) as a guide and he opened for us amazing world of wild nature. He gave us colorful descriptions of every stone,animal and plant. Everybody has a names and story behind. You can touch and pet everything, see everything very close, and ot gives you incredible feeling of involvement in wild nature. That was the most enjoyable part of our visit. Thank you Kevin for assistance and your professionalism... Thank you guys for great enviroment, friendly atmosphere and very educated team!

I take my grandkids, ages 6 & 8, here often. They love seeing the insects and animals. There are knowledgeable people to explain all about them. They get a lot of enjoyment out of the activities also.

Growing center especially neat @ the Holiday season ! Staff extremely helpful and kind to visitors of all ages! Family friendly and they treasure the community

Every trip I've made to Riverbend is better than the last one! The docents and employees are knowledgeable and friendly. Very eager to share their excitement of such a neat place. If you are lucky a butterfly will land on your shoulder! My grandkids are still talking about it!

I took my 3 boys' ages 5, 7, and 9 in August about 2 hours before closing time for the nature center. At first glance the center seems bland. We were the only visitors. Not many exhibits Not a very large space. As we tried to navigate on our own, the few cased animals were in hiding so we did not see much. Just as we were nearly done with the center, we stumbled upon Kevin. Kevin enhanced our visit and made it all worth while. He took the time and patiently shared his vast knowledge about the animals, plants and insects. He was considerate of all questions from my little ones and answered them in a patient manner to which they could understand. He gave my boys an up close and personal hands on experience with some of the exhibits that my boys are thrilled to have had. Without Kevin's presence with us, this could have easily been a meaningless trip.