A special event celebrating the art of expression by our current featured gallery artists Pamela Fingerhut, Diane J. Huff, and Margit Kagerer.
Discover how cacti survive brutal heat, scarce water, and hungry animals with remarkable adaptations. Dr. Ken Sweat of Arizona State University explores the unique features, survival strategies, diversity, and habitats of this fascinating plant family. Presented by Desert Foothills Land Trust and The Holland Center, this program kicks off this year’s Foothills Speaker Series.
This can’t-miss line dancing class features an expert instructor guiding beginners and seasoned dancers through easy routines set to country and pop music. Wear comfy clothes and enjoy movement, rhythm, and laughter in a welcoming environment; there's no audience watching while you learn—just fun, low-impact exercise while learning new steps with others.
Meet award-winning local authors, talk all things books, and purchase signed copies of your favorites while supporting local writers and our community. Reading is fun—and even better when you meet the people behind the stories! This free community event is open to all.
Experience the magic of live theater under the stars at Carefree’s beautiful Sanderson Lincoln Pavilion! Join Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy March in Little Women the Musical, a heartwarming story of family, love, laughter, and chasing your dreams. With memorable music and a timeless story, this is a wonderful evening of outdoor theater you won’t want to miss!
As the future of the Colorado River hangs in the balance, learn how history, policy, drought, and changing conditions are shaping Arizona’s water supply. Explore the agreement governing Colorado River allocations, why reservoirs are critically low, and how evolving water management decisions could affect communities, economies, and the future of Arizona.
Join Master Gardener and Monarch Tagger, Adiane Hopkins, Director of Education at Butterfly Wonderland, as she shares how small changes in your yard can make a big difference for Arizona butterflies, including monarchs. You will also learn why monarchs are tagged, what we have learned by tracking them, and how each of us can contribute to their protection.
Discover how paleontology reveals the ancient world through fossils, prehistoric life, excavation, and scientific clues. Taught by accomplished STEM students, this free session helps grades 1–5 learners build curiosity and critical-thinking skills while exploring what paleontology can look like as a future career. Each participant will uncover “fossils” and use evidence to reconstruct prehistoric life.
This can’t-miss line dancing class features an expert instructor guiding beginners and seasoned dancers through easy routines set to country and pop music. Wear comfy clothes and enjoy movement, rhythm, and laughter in a welcoming environment; there's no audience watching while you learn—just fun, low-impact exercise while learning new steps with others.
Teens ages 14–18 are invited to join the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) Cadet Program — a unique opportunity to learn about law enforcement, build leadership skills, and serve the community. Weekly Tuesday afternoon sessions provide hands-on training and real-world insight into public safety. This is a drop-in program—students can start at any time.
Join in for this free session and become a weather scientist for the day where you will discover what makes our atmosphere so exciting! Students will learn how clouds form, why storms happen, and how meteorologists predict the weather. Then students will participate in a fun, hands-on cloud-in-a-container experiment and create a tornado model to explore air movement and pressure.
Come to our haunted desert for the 7th Annual Prickly Pear Festival! This free, family-friendly event features prickly pear treats and products, demonstrations of juicing, jojoba oil pressing and mesquite flour preparation, plus face painting, caricatures, a haunted-desert photo opportunity, and an interactive storytelling performance. Come in costume and kick off Halloween with fun, food, and desert-inspired festivities for all ages!
Discover the fascinating world of Arizona’s bats and their essential role in the desert ecosystem. Hally Cokenias, co-founder of Arizona Bat Rescue, explores the biology, behavior, habitats, and ecological importance of the state’s 29 bat species, including their role in controlling insects and pollinating native plants. Gain a deeper understanding of these often-misunderstood animals and the vital role they play in our desert.
Give young writers the chance to see their own stories come to life! Over six weeks, 2th–5th graders will develop original stories into a short play, learning character development, dialogue, plot structure, and performance skills. Guided by children’s writing and theater professionals, students will collaborate, build confidence, and present their creation in a final reader’s theatre showcase for families.
Explore the forces and sounds that shape our world! Taught by accomplished STEM students, this free session helps grades 1–5 learners discover the basic laws of gravity and how sound travels and is processed by the human body. Students will verify Newton’s gravitational laws through an experiment, see a theremin demonstration, and observe sound vibrations through a “dancing rice” activity while exploring physics as a future career.
Join us for a leisurely stroll through our local native desert park — led by a Desert Awareness Naturalist — and learn about Sonoran Desert upland plants and how they survive. Walks are the 1st Saturday of the month December through April, begin at 10 a.m., and last for 60-90 minutes. The Nature Trail is relatively flat, and the Saguaro Trail is slightly uphill.
The Sonoran Desert has sustained its own remarkable ecosystem for thousands of years. But the rapid urbanization of Arizona and the broader Southwest has put that balance under serious strain. As Arizona and the surrounding states face large cutbacks of Colorado river water, understanding our role is crucial. Join us for a community conversation about our unique Cave Creek environment.
This can’t-miss line dancing class features an expert instructor guiding beginners and seasoned dancers through easy routines set to country and pop music. Wear comfy clothes and enjoy movement, rhythm, and laughter in a welcoming environment; there's no audience watching while you learn—just fun, low-impact exercise while learning new steps with others.
Teens ages 14–18 are invited to join the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) Cadet Program — a unique opportunity to learn about law enforcement, build leadership skills, and serve the community. Weekly Tuesday afternoon sessions provide hands-on training and real-world insight into public safety. This is a drop-in program—students can start at any time.
Supplement your child's education with Actor's Quest — a one-day workshop, presented by our Signature Program Desert Foothills Theater. DFTs Children's Director will guide creativity, movement, and storytelling through interactive theatre games and acting exercises. This specialized homeschool theatre arts and literacy program offers a holistic approach to education, providing students with a wide range of academic, social-emotional, and creative benefits.
Unplug and join us for a day of fresh air, fun and adventure at the Jewel of the Creek! Our signature program, the Desert Awareness Committee, and the Desert Foothills Land Trust for the 14th annual Desert Discovery Day. Explore the Sonoran Desert, learn about its past and present inhabitants, meet native wildlife, and enjoy hands-on activities for all ages.
How can American education better prepare students for the future? Explore the challenges facing K–12 education, their implications for civic engagement and workforce readiness, and potential paths forward. This timely discussion examines innovative learning models and the growing role of artificial intelligence in teaching and learning, opening a conversation about how emerging technologies could help improve student outcomes.
Teens ages 14–18 are invited to join the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) Cadet Program — a unique opportunity to learn about law enforcement, build leadership skills, and serve the community. Weekly Tuesday afternoon sessions provide hands-on training and real-world insight into public safety. This is a drop-in program—students can start at any time.
Join this free session where students will take a journey inside the human body! Students will learn how major organs and body systems work together, including the heart, lungs, brain, muscles, and bones. Students will conduct a heart-rate experiment to investigate how activity affects the circulatory system and they will build a working lung model to see how breathing happens.
This can’t-miss line dancing class features an expert instructor guiding beginners and seasoned dancers through easy routines set to country and pop music. Wear comfy clothes and enjoy movement, rhythm, and laughter in a welcoming environment; there's no audience watching while you learn—just fun, low-impact exercise while learning new steps with others.
Teens ages 14–18 are invited to join the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) Cadet Program — a unique opportunity to learn about law enforcement, build leadership skills, and serve the community. Weekly Tuesday afternoon sessions provide hands-on training and real-world insight into public safety. This is a drop-in program—students can start at any time.
Explore the science of astronomy and how you can get started stargazing at home with Kevin LeGore of Focus Astronomy.
Join us for a leisurely stroll through our local native desert park — led by a Desert Awareness Naturalist — and learn about Sonoran Desert upland plants and how they survive. Walks are the 1st Saturday of the month December through April, begin at 10 a.m., and last for 60-90 minutes. The Nature Trail is relatively flat, and the Saguaro Trail is slightly uphill.
Teens ages 14–18 are invited to join the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) Cadet Program — a unique opportunity to learn about law enforcement, build leadership skills, and serve the community. Weekly Tuesday afternoon sessions provide hands-on training and real-world insight into public safety. This is a drop-in program—students can start at any time.
This can’t-miss line dancing class features an expert instructor guiding beginners and seasoned dancers through easy routines set to country and pop music. Wear comfy clothes and enjoy movement, rhythm, and laughter in a welcoming environment; there's no audience watching while you learn—just fun, low-impact exercise while learning new steps with others.
34250 N. 60th St., Bldg. B
Scottsdale, AZ 85266
(480) 488-1090
info@hollandcenter.org
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