Raritan Headwaters offers fun, nature-themed birthday party programs for children between the ages of 3 and 14! Birthday parties take place at Fairview Farm Wildlife Preserve, where we have a Nature Classroom, trails to explore and plenty of open space to enjoy the outdoors! By working with RHA staff to design a birthday program based on your child’s interests and birthday wishes, you can be sure that your youngster and his/her friends will enjoy a fun, educational time of exploration, games, crafts and other activities!
RHA will provide:
- Use of our Nature Classroom for the party space, or an outdoor area with tables and chairs for all party guests
- Trash bags and clean up supplies (brooms, dust pans, etc.)
- Use of our office refrigerator, freezer, sink and microwave
Your reservation includes:
- Plenty of set-up time before your party begins
- Two hours of party time: One hour of activities including exploration time and crafts led by a naturalist, and one hour of general play time (including refreshments and gift-opening)
- One hour to clean up at the end of the party (all garbage must be placed in the dumpsters at the top of RHA’s
driveway)
You will provide:
- Birthday cake and refreshments
- Decorations if desired. All decorations MUST be secured so as not to blow away and litter the surrounding habitat areas
- Assistance managing children during the RHA-led portion of the program
- Supervision of your child and guests
Cost:
$300 Members, $350 Non-Members (includes a family membership). Party size is limited to 20 children including siblings. Smaller party sizes are encouraged, as the party space is small and naturalist availability is limited! Full payment must be received to hold your reservation. Refunds are available if cancellation is made at least 24 hours in advance. Membership is considered a donation and is not refundable.
We look forward to sharing this special day with you and your child!
Theme Ideas
Fun in the Butterfly Garden (ages 3 and up)
Everyone will grab a butterfly net and insect viewer as we walk through the meadows of Fairview Farm looking for butterflies and other pollinators, ending up in the bird and butterfly garden! Have fun learning about butterfly life cycles by searching for eggs, caterpillars and adult butterflies! A fun activity for this birthday is to have a tea party in the garden (with yummy lemonade and iced tea, of course), and to make a take-home butterfly craft! Ideal for May through September
Campfire Fun (ages 10 and up)
Gather round the campfire as we roast s’mores and look for constellations! Option to go on a naturalist-lead night hike, or make dream catchers! Ideal for April through the end of December
Scavenger Hunt (ages 5 and up)
Have fun exploring the trails of Fairview Farm as we search for elements of nature along the way! Option to make this party a treasure-hunt too! Year-round!
Eco-Inspector (ages 3 and up)
Learn how to use binoculars and magnifying glasses as we tromp around the trails of Fairview Farm looking for things big and small and far away! Make paper-tube binoculars as a take-home craft for exploring your own backyard! Year-round!
Water Wonders (ages 5 and up)
Pull on your water shoes for a short hike to a shallow stream where we can splash around and look for stream wildlife like salamanders and water pennies! On warm days we can walk back to the classroom for water games, or on cooler days make a fun take-home craft! Ideal for April through September
Get Crafty! (ages 4 and up)
Bring your creativity for a party full of nature-themed crafts! Using fallen leaves, stones, pinecones and other found objects from the trails of Fairview Farm, we will take home a handful of fun crafts! Think yarn spider webs, pinecone bird feeders, painted stones, and more! RHA staff have plenty of ideas to stimulate the creativity of kids of any age. Year-round!
Orienteering (ages 7 and up)
Learn how to read maps and use a compass to find hidden treasure! Kids will get a basic understanding of reading maps as they use clues around the property to find trinkets to take home. A fun adventure for older children, and can be adapted for younger kids too! Year-round!
Growing Up Garden Party (ages 3 and up)
Go on a scavenger hunt in and around the Bird and Butterfly Garden, and play some fun garden-themed games! Perfect take-home crafts for this party could be solar prints using elements from the meadows and garden, planting a seed to bring home or making simple terrariums! Ideal for June through early October
Feathered Friends (ages 3 and up)
Everyone will get a pair of binoculars to borrow for this party, where we will learn different bird calls and walk the meadows and forests looking and listening for song birds, birds of prey and other fun feathered friends. Each child will make a take-home bird feeder, pine cone bird feeders are perfect for younger children and popsicle stick feeders for older kids! Year-round!
Bugs! (ages 3 and up)
Search high and low for six-legged friends around Fairview Farm! Using magnifying glasses and bug viewers, we are sure to find some new and interesting insects to observe on a fun hike around the property! Then it’s back to the classroom for some fun games and take home crafts like googly-eyed insect-painted stones, decorated butterfly nets or lightning bug jars! Ideal for June through August
Home, Home on the Range! (ages 3 and up)
Wear your hiking shoes for a fun ramble on the trails of Fairview Farm to look for animal habitats! We’ll make our way back to the classroom gathering materials to make our own habitat – a grass hut perfectly sized for kids! By the end of this party we will have built one (or two, or three) grass huts that kids can safely play in, and duplicate at home! Ideal for April through early October.
Fall Fun (ages 3 and up)
Enjoy the beatiful fall foliage of Fairview Farm! Guests will carve or paint a pumpkin, make scarecrows and explore the field maze! Ideal for late September through late October
Add Ons
If you or your child has an idea for a nature-themed party, please let us know! Options that can be added to any party include (but are not limited to):
Crafts
- Solar prints
- Terrariums
- Pine Cone Bird Feeders
- Dream Catchers
- Paper Tube Binoculars
- Painted Rocks
- Painted Walking Sticks
- Paper Planes
- Fairy Houses
Activities
- Make s’mores in a Solar Oven (daytime parties only)
- Tracking
- Scavenger Hunt
- Treasure Hunt
- Face painting (extra $50)
For more information, contact Director of Education, Lauren Theis