title: Bear Branch Nature Center
text: # Bear Branch Nature Center
  
  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 that 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.
  
  ## History
  
  In 1972, the county purchased the land on which Bear Branch Nature Center and Hashawha Environmental Center are built. The name "Hashawha" is a Native American word meaning "old fields."
  
  ## Hashawha Tower
  
  The Hashawha Tower is a 10 m (35 ft) tall windmill donated to Hashawha Westminster, Maryland, located at Hashawha Environmental Center.
  
  ## Gallery
  
  * Butterflies on display in the Exhibit Hall
  * Bear exhibit
  * Lake Hashawha
  * View of the caretaker's residence
  * View of the Exhibit Hall
  * Bee hives on the property
  