Bear Branch Nature Center

Bear Branch Nature Center
Type	Nature Center
Location	300 John Owings Road Westminster, Maryland
Coordinates	39°38′39″N 76°59′26″W / 39.64417°N 76.99056°W / 39.64417; -76.99056
Area	4,000 sq ft (370 m2)
Created	1993
Operated by	Carroll County, Maryland
Hiking trails	5 miles (8.0 km)
Parking	On-site lot
Other information	exhibits, live animals, observatory, planetarium
Website	ccgovernment.carr.org

Bear Branch Nature Center is a nature center in Carroll County, Maryland near Westminster. It features interpretive exhibits about local plants and animals, an outdoor water feature and play area, a Discovery Room for children, an observation beehive, live animals including an eagle, hawks, owls, snakes, salamanders, turtles, frogs, and toads, a planetarium and observatory. The center is a facility of Carroll County Recreation & Parks.

The nature center is adjacent to Hashawha Environmental Center, a residential facility is also operated by Carroll County Recreation & Parks. Hashawha Environmental Center is home to Carroll County Public Schools Outdoor School, a residential environmental education program open to every sixth-grade student in the county.

The two facilities are located on approximately 320 acres, with more than five miles of multi-use trails, a restored 19th-century cabin, a lake, a pond, and access to both Bear Branch and Big Pipe Creek.^[1]

In 1972, the county purchased the land on which Bear Branch Nature Center and Hashawha Environmental Center wee built. The name "Hashawha" is a Native American word meaning "old fields."^[2]

The Hashawha Tower is a 10 m (35 ft) tall windmill donated to and located at Hashawha Environmental Center.

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  Butterflies on display in the Exhibit Hall
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  Bear exhibit
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  Lake Hashawha
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  View of the caretaker's residence
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  View of the Exhibit Hall
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  Bee hives on the property

• Hashawha/Bear Branch - Carroll County Recreation & Parks