Apgar Nature Center
The Apgar Nature Center entered its twelfth summer season in 2023 of being staffed by volunteers from the Glacier National Park Volunteer Associates. Considered one of the Best Things To Do in Glacier National Park, it sits in a grove of cedar trees in the village of Apgar and is housed in a small cabin built in 1929.
The Nature Center features interactive activities for families: children can feel a grizzly bear’s fur, listen and identify birds by their “songs” or create their own puppet show. Displays of skulls, claws, plants, bark, pelts, antlers, horns, and various rocks are found throughout the Center along with interpretative signage. Outdoor ranger-led talks are held during the season, which runs from mid-June through the end of August.
30 volunteers logged 1,048 total hours, which provided over $24,104 in in-kind labor to the park, which established another visitation record. Over $188,000 in in-kind labor has been contributed by GNPVA over the course of the twelve seasons we have been involved at the Nature Center.
The Volunteer Associates met with park officials in 2011, wondering what we could do to help increase the visitation at the Nature Center, at that time it was called the Discovery Cabin (it was only open an hour or so each day). The park staff asked us to find and organize the volunteers, coordinate the scheduling, and fund the operational costs, which we were happy to do. Since that beginning, GNPVA has donated over $14,000 and countless hours to improve the Center.
GNPVA Volunteers are always welcome to join the staff of the Apgar Nature Center.
"The APGAR NATURE CENTER ranked as one of the Best Things to do in Glacier National Park - "Housed in a small cabin built in 1929, the Apgar Nature Center sits in a grove of cedar trees and is one of the official park visitor centers. The nature center features interactive activities for kids: children can feel a grizzly bear's fur, listen and identify birds by their "songs" or create their own puppet show. Educational displays detail plants found in the park and teach about the habitats of the vast array of wildlife. Ranger-led talks and other programs are held in the outdoor seating area."