September
American Red Cross Blood Drive
Friday, September 5; 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Sign-up to donate blood at the Ruby Rupner Auditorium. Register online through the American Red Cross Blood Drive.
Cedar River Astronomy Club Meeting
Friday, September 12; 8:00 – 9:00 pm
The Cedar River Astronomy Club is open to all ages, skill, and interest levels, and is free to join. All meetings start at the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center and then move to the Sola Fide Observatory if the sky is clear for a members-only night sky viewing.
More information can be found HERE.
Honey Harvest Open House
Saturday, September 13; 9:30 am – 12:00 pm
Ever wonder how the honey gets from the hives into the bottle? Come watch Nature Center staff extract honey from our 3 hives. Learn about the hot uncapping knife and why we use it, how we use a bike to extract the honey from the comb, and what the strainers in our collection buckets do. We may be bottling the honey that day but will not have any for sale until the next week sometime.
Sola Fide Observatory – Open House
Saturday, September 13; 9:00 – 11:00 pm
Free Open House; Weather Dependent
Join us under the stars at Sola Fide Observatory, located off-property south of town. Enjoy the stars, moon, or galaxies from the view of our telescopes. More information can be found HERE.
This event is weather-dependent and may be cancelled due to high cloud cover or other factors. Please check our social media for updates on the day of the event.
3rd Annual Hormel Nature Center 8K Race & 1M Fun Run
Saturday, September 20
Registration now open online – 8K link & 1M link
Join the Friends of the Nature Center for a beautiful morning race through the Nature Center.
Funds raised by this event to go the Friends of the Hormel Nature Center to support projects and programs of greatest need.
The 8K race begins at 9:00 am with same day registration/check in beginning at 8:00 am. Registration will cost $30 and includes a t-shirt.
If an 8K is too much, a 1 mile fun run will begin at 9:15 am and will cost $5 to register, shirts not included. Open to all ages.
For more information [Click Here]
6th Annual Statewide Star Party
Saturday, September 20; 1:00 – 4:00 pm
Open House
Free events for all ages with a ton of outer space themed, hands-on activities to learn more about astronomy. Event includes space demos, planetarium showings, arts & crafts, telescopes, and more!
Planetarium Showings
Saturday, September 20; 1:30 – 3:30 pm
Free but must check in for tickets at front desk
Don’t like staying up late to look at the stars? Get an up close look at stars, constellations, planets, and much more from the comfort of our indoor inflatable planetarium. The planetarium is a smaller space that will be fairly dark. You will need to take your shoes off and sit on the floor. It is wheelchair accessible.
Throughout the open house, Nature Center staff will give multiple 15 minute presentations. When you come into the Nature Center, please stop by the front desk to get a free ticket for a time slot. Space is limited.
Sola Fide Observatory – Open House
Saturday, September 20; 9:00 – 11:00 pm
Free Open House; Weather Dependent
Join us under the stars at Sola Fide Observatory, located off-property south of town. Enjoy the stars, moon, or galaxies from the view of our telescopes. More information can be found HERE.
This event is weather-dependent and may be cancelled due to high cloud cover or other factors. Please check our social media for updates on the day of the event.