Chaplin Nature Center

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Chaplin Nature Center The Chaplin Nature Center is a 230-acre nature preserve along the Arkansas River near Arkansas City, Kansas. Trails open year round sunrise to sunset.

Visitor Center with seasonal hours. We do not allow pets or bikes. No hunting, collecting, or fishing.

ACCA school group had a fun discovery on the trail today. πŸ’πŸ¦‹ Although we only tagged three monarch butterflies, students...
10/13/2026

ACCA school group had a fun discovery on the trail today. πŸ’πŸ¦‹ Although we only tagged three monarch butterflies, students had another exciting observation along the trail: a three-toed box turtle (Terrapene triunguis)!

Unlike aquatic turtles, box turtles spend most of their lives on land, foraging for insects, earthworms, mushrooms, and berries. Their hinged lower shell, called the plastron, allows them to completely close themselves inside for protection from predators.

These remarkable reptiles can live 30–50 years or longer and often remain within the same small home range throughout their lives.

🐒 Remember: If you find a box turtle, leave it where you found it! If it's crossing a road and you can safely help, move it to the side of the road in the direction it was already traveling. Box turtles have strong ties to their home ranges and should never be relocated to a different area.

Oxford Wildcat 5th graders hit the trails today for a fun field trip experience. It was a windy but extremely eventful m...
10/12/2026

Oxford Wildcat 5th graders hit the trails today for a fun field trip experience. It was a windy but extremely eventful morning. Every student had an up close experience with the butterflies. Smiles all around. 😊 Thanks to a generous volunteer, we also had a display of live πŸ› , chrysalis’s, and many adult monarchs for the students to observe.
πŸ’œπŸ¦‹ 20 more monarchs tagged and headed on their migration journey to Mexico.πŸ’¨
Oxford USD 358

Chaplin Young Birders Club HighlightsπŸͺΆπŸ’œWe signed up some new birders alongside our returning young bird enthusiasts at t...
10/11/2026

Chaplin Young Birders Club HighlightsπŸͺΆπŸ’œ
We signed up some new birders alongside our returning young bird enthusiasts at this morning’s club meeting!
The windy conditions made for some slow birding, but that didn’t dampen our fun! Next month, we’ll kick things off with some fun bird trivia games before hitting a new set of trails to see which fall migrants have arrived.
πŸ—“οΈ Next Meeting: Saturday, Nov 7th at 10am.
The Young Birders Club is FREE and open to kids ages 8(ish, some younger kiddos accepted on a case by case basis)– up to age 17! We meet once a month, alternating between Saturdays and Sundays. There's no commitment to attend every meeting, so come when you can!
Interested in joining? Contact Chaplin Nature Center for more information. New members are always welcome! Come hang with us at a meeting and see what we’re all about🐦

10/09/2026

Butterfly feeding experience pop up this morning was a big hit and a whole lot of butterflies yet to tag as another big wave comes through on their journey to Mexico.

We have filled and scheduled our last butterfly feeding experiences. Make sure to schedule early next season πŸ’œπŸ¦‹

10/07/2026

π’π”π‘ππ‘πˆπ’π„! π–πžβ€™π«πž 𝐑𝐚𝐯𝐒𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐂𝐍𝐂 𝐏𝐨𝐩-𝐔𝐩 π„π―πžπ§π­! πŸŽ‰

The monarchs are moving through in great numbers this week, so we’re taking advantage of it while we can! We have plenty of tags just waiting for that special monarch to carry it to Mexico.
π•π• π•šπ•Ÿ 𝕦𝕀 π•₯π• π•žπ• π•£π•£π• π•¨, 𝕆𝕔π•₯𝕠𝕓𝕖𝕣 𝟠, 𝕠𝕣 π”½π•£π•šπ••π•’π•ͺ, 𝕆𝕔π•₯𝕠𝕓𝕖𝕣 𝟑 π•—π•£π• π•ž πŸ™πŸ˜ π”Έπ•„β€“πŸ™πŸš ℙ𝕄 for Monarch Tagging & Butterfly Feeding at Chaplin Nature Center.
Tagging is FREE, and our Κ™α΄œα΄›α΄›α΄‡Κ€κœ°ΚŸΚ κœ°α΄‡α΄‡α΄…ΙͺΙ΄Ι’ ᴇxα΄˜α΄‡Κ€Ιͺᴇɴᴄᴇ Ιͺꜱ $5 α΄˜α΄‡Κ€ α΄˜α΄‡Κ€κœ±α΄Ι΄. These spots are limited to 40 each day and are 𝕀𝕔𝕙𝕖𝕕𝕦𝕝𝕖𝕕 π•šπ•Ÿ π•₯π•šπ•žπ•– 𝕀𝕝𝕠π•₯𝕀, 𝕀𝕠 π•₯𝕖𝕩π•₯ 𝟞𝟚𝟘-𝟜𝟜𝟚-πŸœπŸ™πŸ›πŸ› π•₯𝕠 𝕣𝕖𝕀𝕖𝕣𝕧𝕖 your spot. All ages welcome for tagging! 3+ for butterfly feeding.
This is a true pop-up event, because with migration, we have to follow the butterflies! 🧑 Butterfly feeding is dependent on monarch availability. Tagging is no costβ€”come and go for tagging 10am-12pm with RSVP.
You must have an RSVP in to participate, no drop in option.

𝒫𝑒𝓇𝒻𝑒𝒸𝓉 π“Œπ‘’π’Άπ“‰π’½π‘’π“‡ π’»π‘œπ“‡ π’Άπ“ƒπ‘œπ“‰π’½π‘’π“‡ π’Ήπ’Άπ“Ž π‘œπ’» π“‚π‘œπ“ƒπ’Άπ“‡π’Έπ’½ 𝓉𝒢𝑔𝑔𝒾𝓃𝑔!Today, C4 Elementary 5th graders helped tag and release 14 monarchs i...
10/07/2026

𝒫𝑒𝓇𝒻𝑒𝒸𝓉 π“Œπ‘’π’Άπ“‰π’½π‘’π“‡ π’»π‘œπ“‡ π’Άπ“ƒπ‘œπ“‰π’½π‘’π“‡ π’Ήπ’Άπ“Ž π‘œπ’» π“‚π‘œπ“ƒπ’Άπ“‡π’Έπ’½ 𝓉𝒢𝑔𝑔𝒾𝓃𝑔!

Today, C4 Elementary 5th graders helped tag and release 14 monarchs in just under an hour on the trails. πŸ₯Ύ Warmer temperatures and early morning sunshine made for a great combination, with monarchs stopping to refuel on nectar before continuing their journey south toward Mexico.

Are the following the fall migration on those with radio transmitters? Updates today show some have already entered Mexico πŸ’™
You can follow their migration in near real time through the α΄˜Κ€α΄α΄Šα΄‡α΄„α΄› α΄α΄Ι΄α΄€Κ€α΄„Κœ app πŸ¦‹

10/06/2026

A great morning with IXL USD 470 - Arkansas City Public Schools 5th grade students! πŸ¦‹
Today, students helped tag and release six monarchs as they continue their fall migration south. Thanks to an increase in visiting monarchs this week, everyone also got to participate in our Butterfly Feeding Experience and get an up-close look at these incredible travelers.
Safe travels, butterflies! πŸ¦‹

πŸ’‘ π•ƒπ•šπ•˜π•™π•₯𝕀 𝕠𝕦π•₯ π•₯π• π•Ÿπ•šπ•˜π•™π•₯! πŸ¦πŸŒ™One of the biggest fall migration nights so far this season is predicted for tonight, with more ...
10/04/2026

πŸ’‘ π•ƒπ•šπ•˜π•™π•₯𝕀 𝕠𝕦π•₯ π•₯π• π•Ÿπ•šπ•˜π•™π•₯! πŸ¦πŸŒ™
One of the biggest fall migration nights so far this season is predicted for tonight, with more than 500 MILLION birds expected to be on the move across the country!

And the migration is already impressive right here at home. BirdCast estimates π•žπ• π•£π•– π•₯π•™π•’π•Ÿ 𝟚.πŸ™ π•žπ•šπ•π•π•šπ• π•Ÿ π•“π•šπ•£π••π•€ 𝕔𝕣𝕠𝕀𝕀𝕖𝕕 ℂ𝕠𝕨𝕝𝕖π•ͺ β„‚π• π•¦π•Ÿπ•₯π•ͺ last night alone, with peak traffic reaching nearly 600,000 birds in flight.

Most of this movement happens after dark. Turning off unnecessary outdoor lights from dusk to dawn can help give these nighttime travelers a safer journey.

Take a look at some of the species expected to be moving through Cowley County right now. Some are π•”π• π•Ÿπ•₯π•šπ•Ÿπ•¦π•šπ•Ÿπ•˜ 𝕗𝕒𝕣π•₯𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕀𝕠𝕦π•₯𝕙, π•¨π•™π•šπ•π•– 𝕠π•₯𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕀 𝕒𝕣𝕖 π•’π•£π•£π•šπ•§π•šπ•Ÿπ•˜ to spend the fall and winter with us.

πŸŒ… Tomorrow morning could be a great time to grab the binoculars and hit the trails to see who stopped at Chaplin Nature Center to rest and refuel! πŸ‚πŸ¦

Address

27814 27TH Drive
Arkansas City, KS
67005

Opening Hours

Tuesday 9am - 1pm
Wednesday 9am - 1pm
Thursday 9am - 1pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 1pm - 5pm

Telephone

+16204424133

Website

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