Youth and Family Programs

Exciting things are happening at YSI! Join us for our upcoming FREE Self-Guided Science Safaris at Vasona and Alum Rock locations! From a variety of Scavenger Hunts to Nature Walks, we have fun filled events that will help you get out to explore our beautiful parks while enjoying some much needed fresh air and wildlife! These are no host events, but a YSI staff member will be checking everyone in and ensuring everyone arrives on time and takes the correct designated trail. We will also be making sure everyone is staying safe by following the required protocol of social distancing while wearing a facial mask. Below are the dates and locations of each event.

YSI has incorporated new guidelines that follow all County and State protocol. This information can be found in the registration form. We are in this together, and YSI is here to help keep you safe and healthy while enjoying the beauty of nature! You will receive an email the day before your event with all the needed information, including your trail map route, and a list of things to look for while enjoying your surroundings.

If you have any questions, please email serena@ysi-ca.org or call 408-356-4945 ext. 11. We hope you have a wonderful time, and from all of us at YSI, stay safe and healthy!

Join YSI for the study of marine organisms and their behaviors and interactions with the environment.  You will also learn about adaptations, habitat, and more!

Our instructors have put together personal kits for each child, so they can be artistic while being safe! We have some fun craft ideas for each child to create that will use REAL shells and corals from the sea! Best of all, they can keep their creations to share with their families!

We can't wait to spend a nice day outside in beautiful Vasona Park while enjoying the depths of the ocean with you all!

Does your child love fossils? You've come to the right place! Our instructors have a fun filled day of crafts and science to kickstart your inquiring minds! You will also go on a short nature walk to look at the creek and talk about how creatures in the water can become fossils many years later!

Our instructors have created personal kits for each child to make fun and artistic crafts, all while being safe! This Science Saturday is rain or shine, so please dress accordingly!

With so many animals out there in the world, are you able to figure out who is a predator, and who is prey? Did you know some can be both? Let YSI spend the day with you, and explain key differences to look for when meeting some live YSI animal ambassadors. Then you can go home and share your knowledge with your family, and apply it anywhere you go!

Crafts are always fun, so we'll include one of those as well! Our instructors have created personal kits for each child to be artistic, all while being safe!

Here at YSI, we don't use the term Creepy Crawlies, and we're here to show you why! We will spend the day learning about various insects and arthropods, and even see some that are YSI ambassadors too! After learning about their adaptations, we will go on a fun nature walk in Vasona Park to see what we can find together! Insects tend to love coming out after a rain, so dress accordingly!

After exploring, we will come back to do a fun craft together! Our instructors have created personal kits for each child, so they can be artistic while being safe!

You'll come in the morning as children, and leave as Junior Entomologists!

Would you like to know some of the secrets of magic tricks? YSI has you covered, or uncovered rather! We will dig down and search for the mysteries behind the magic, and also learn some tricks of our own so you can take your knowledge home to impress your family!

This is a 3 day program, due to the Christmas Holiday.

Location: Vasona Lake County Park (333 Blossom Hill Rd., Los Gatos, California 95032)

Are you a fan of the old days? At YSI, we mean the OLD old days! Learn about dinosaurs, sabretooth tigers, and other prehistoric creatures, plus look at some awesome fossils! Make awesome crafts like an ice volcano, and you may even get the chance to test for fossils in a rock! We have a prehistoric passion, and so will you!

This is a 3 day program, due to the New Year's holiday week.

Location: Vasona Lake County Park (333 Blossom Hill Rd., Los Gatos, California 95032)

Hello Friends of YSI!

Join us for more FREE virtual storytimes, and some stories include meeting an animal along the way! Register now to reserve your spot. We will "see" you then!

Nov 28 The Caterpillar and The Pollywog

Dec 5 Spiders

Dec 19 The Great Fuzz Frenzy