Campfire cooking
Sibley State Park, 7-8:30 p.m. Friday
Sample fire-cooked recipes such as an Idaho Sunrise Breakfast and Fancy Dutch Oven Mushrooms and take home the instructions. Bring a favorite recipe and a pie iron if you have one (pie irons are also available for sale at the park). Meet at the Cedar Hill Shelter Building. (1-320-354-2055, mndnr.gov)
Fossil field trip
Whitewater State Park, 3-5 p.m. Saturday
Find and keep fossils of plants and animals that lived hundreds of millions of years ago. The site is nine miles from the park. (1-507-932-3007, mndnr.gov)
Family archery
Cleary Lake Regional Park, 5-7 p.m. Friday
Learn the basics of shooting. Cost is $10. Call 763-559-6700 and reference activity #444545-00 to make a reservation. (threeriversparks.org)
Monarchs vs. moths
William O'Brien State Park, 10-11 a.m. Saturday
Learn about the similarities and differences between the two creatures. Learn how to help and to attract them to your own neighborhood and make a beautiful butterfly to take home with you. This activity counts toward a Junior Park Naturalist patch. Learn how you can earn yours. Meet at the visitor center. (651-433-0500, mndnr.gov)
Coldblooded creatures
St. Croix State Park, Saturday-Sunday
Get acquainted with a variety of coldblooded creatures at the park's fifth annual "Ectothermathon." Visit the wildlife pond near park headquarters from 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday to learn about frogs, dragonflies and other residents. Stick around for a live animal program about local reptiles from 5 to 6 p.m. Saturday at the council ring. On Sunday, meet from 11 a.m. to noon at the St. Croix Lodge to make a butterfly craft and take a butterfly walk. (1-320-384-6591, mndnr.gov)
Smartphone geocache
Interstate State Park, 2-3 p.m. Sunday
Grab your data-enabled smartphone and join a naturalist to learn how to turn your phone into a high-tech treasure map. Meet outside the visitor center. (651-465-5711, mndnr.gov)
Insects on the prairie
Lowry Nature Center, 1-3 p.m. Sunday
Find butterflies and other prairie insects using sweep nets. Learn about their life cycle and which plants attract them. Cost is $5. (763-694-7650, threeriversparks.org)