• 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 Fees

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.

Please note that we are no longer permitting wedding or wedding reception rentals at Shaver's Creek. For other facilities around Lake Perez that do allow weddings, please contact Stone Valley Recreation Area at 814-863-1164.

Please CLICK HERE to download a PDF of our rental fees. 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.

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.

Insurance and Indemnification

All non-University groups must sign the University's Standard Indemnification Agreement (provided upon request). Depending on the type of facility use, Shaver's Creek may also require proof of insurance.

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

If you are not a member, we strongly recommend that you join since the membership discount on rentals over 3 hours is usually equal to or greater than the membership fee. To become a member of Shaver's Creek Environmental Center, please click here.

Food Service

Shaver's Creek is not in the business of catering, but we do host many catered events. We require the use of environmentally friendly items, such as reusable or compostable flatware, plates, and napkins. We ask that no Styrofoam be used at our facility. 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. All caterers must be on the Penn State approved caterer list found HERE. If they are not, they must provide proof of insurance.

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 lower 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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