• Rentals/Bookstore
• Rental Facilities
• Bookstore
• Raptor Center
• Discovery Room
• Picnic Areas
• Restrooms

Rental Facilities

Nestled in the woodlands and winding trails of central Pennsylvania, the center is a favorite location for group events. We offer indoor and outdoor settings, secluded meeting spaces with presentation equipment, a natural history resource library and bookstore, and picnic areas—each with a view of the surrounding countryside and wildlife.

Meeting Room Space
All meeting spaces are available on a limited basis, since they are used primarily for conducting programs and teaching courses.

Upper Classroom:

• located behind the raptor center on a slight elevation
• secluded and quiet with outdoor deck with bird feeders
• capacity: 42 seated at tables; 55 in rows
• 4 or 5 picnic tables outside
• ramp accessible from service road

Lower Classroom:

• located within the center, close access to kitchen, exhibit room, bird-viewing area, and the front yard gardens
• cozy woodstove for heat, ceiling fan
• capacity: 38–40 seated at tables; 50 seated in rows
• often includes front lawn with about 8 picnic tables and "conversation circles" of lawn chairs with the lower classroom reserved as rain space
• ramp accessible from front porch

Outdoor Classroom:

• great for open-air activities, such as birthday parties, picnics, and other special occasions
• covered space includes three open-air walls and a large hearth and stone chimney for outdoor campfires on the fourth side
• capacity: about 70 under cover and an additional 40 on the surrounding deck, depending on the set up
• located on the lake side of the center
• large deck wraps around two sides behind the chimney
• deck side of chimney features a fully ADA-accessible climbing wall more than 20 feet high (not for general use; Shaver's Creek staff must be on hand to operate)
• on-grade access from the paved main entrance path
   

Rental Fee

Rentals fall into three categories. If you wish to rent space only, then contact the rentals coordinator. If you wish to rent space for a birthday party or other special event with an animal program, nature walk, or other type of outdoors program, contact the public programs director. If you wish to rent space in conjunction with a teambuilding program, contact our teambuilding and adventure programs director.

The rental fee includes the use of meeting room, restrooms, a staff member as a host at the Nature Center, and most audiovisual equipment, including a screen, TV and VCR, overhead projector, and slide projector. Please inform us of your equipment needs at least one week prior to your rental, so that we may reserve them for your use.

The below price includes the required $30 deposit.

Birthday and Other Special Programs

Upper or Lower Classroom Rental

Penn State Outreach Groups
Please call 863-2000 for special rates.

Additional Programming
If a Shaver's Creek program, such as a live-animal presentation or a teambuilding program, is added to your rental, deduct $20 from your total rental price.

A $35 deposit is required for each rental date. If you are not a member, you may become a member and use your membership fee of $35 as your deposit. We strongly recommend becoming a member, since the membership discount on rentals is usually equal to or greater than the membership fee. This deposit is nonrefundable if the rental is canceled less than fourteen days before the rental date.

Excess Clean-Up Fee
If more than twenty minutes of clean-up labor is required after your rental, your group will be charged an additional $85.

Link to Members Pages
To become a member of Shaver's Creek Environmental Center, please click here.

Food Service

Shaver's Creek, itself, is not in the business of catering. We do host many catered events. We require the use of environmentally friendly items, such as reusable or compostable flatware, plates, and napkins. No Styrofoam. We recommend environmentally friendly caterers and caterers who know our site and understand our mission. These may include: Benjamin’s (a zero-waste caterer), Harrison’s, Prospector’s, and others.


Parking for a Rental

Parking for your rental at Shaver's Creek Environmental Center is available in the upper parking loop. From the upper loop, a gentle walking-trail will lead you to the visitors' center through the front gardens. If needed, you may unload directly at the lower or upper classrooms, before returning to the parking lots in the upper loop.

Your assigned host will greet you at the visitor and bookstore entrance and guide you to your rental facility.

Ramp access is available to the visitors' center front porch and to the upper classroom behind the Raptor Center. Participants with a special need may park in the staff and volunteer parking lot next to the visitors' center or other areas as needed.

Click here for a map of Shaver's Creek.

Refunds

Programs that are canceled at least fourteen days ahead of time may receive a full refund. For programs canceled after that time, the deposit is nonrefundable.


How to Reserve the Facility

A $35 deposit is required for each rental date. This deposit is nonrefundable if the rental is canceled less than fourteen days before the rental date.

If you have any additional questions or would like to reserve the facility, please contact the rental coordinator.

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