Prairie Ridge Ecostation's nature playground reopens

Prairie Ridge Ecostation's popular Nature PlaySpace has reopened after closing in March 2020 because of COVID. The ecostation, the outdoor learning lab for the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, announced late last week that the space was now available for play.

In a Facebook post, the ecostation wrote, "We appreciate your patience while staff and volunteers prepared the space for visitors!"

Because of the space's child-focused activities, all visitors are "strongly recommended" to wear a mask within the playspace. Staff will be cleaning non-natural items once per day, according to the post. (The COVID vaccine, of course, is not approved yet for kids younger than age 12.)

"At this time the water feature will remain off," the post says. "However children will still be able to enjoy other features in the PlaySpace including the sandbox, fossil pit, mud kitchen and groundhog tunnel with the slide! Bring a picnic and enjoy the shaded picnic tables!"

The ecostation is in west Raleigh, not far from the N.C Museum of Art. It also includes a collection of easy trails and natural spaces for families to explore. It's free.