Nature Play

Nature Play is back at the Phoenix Zoo on Saturday, November 7, as part of a recurring morning program that runs on the first Saturday of the month. This session takes place in The Enchanted Forest, and it's built around child-directed play in and with nature—meaning the kids lead the way and the adults follow.

It's unstructured outdoor play, and the zoo frames it as a key part of child development. They encourage healthy risk-taking—balancing, climbing, jumping—and the facilitators are asked to avoid saying "be careful," using questions instead to help children navigate their play safely. The idea is that this kind of exploration can happen in even the smallest natural areas, with kids of all ages, in any weather and through every season, and that spending time outside exploring the natural world in an unstructured way is an essential part of growing up. While the children explore, caregivers are invited to learn how to take nature play home.

It's a program that runs through the winter and into the spring: October 3, November 7, and December 5 in 2026, then January 2, February 6, March 6, April 3, and May 1 in 2027. The timing shifts with the seasons: October and November run from 8:30 to 11:30 AM, December through February move to 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM, and March through May return to 8:30 to 11:30 AM. Zoo members get an early start on those winter dates, with access from 8:30 to 9 AM before the general session begins.

It's free with general admission or membership, so if you're already planning a day at the zoo, it's an easy addition to the morning. The Phoenix Zoo is one of the largest non-profit zoos in the U.S., caring for more than 3,000 animals across nearly 400 species, many of them threatened or endangered.