The cloudy skies parted just in time for hundreds of parents and kids to come out the Placerita Canyon Nature Center on Saturday for a day of fun educational activities.

Children young and not-so-young had a chance to pan for fool’s gold, milk a wooden cow, pet a real snake and more.

The occasion was the annual Open House at the nature center, hosted by the Placerita Canyon Nature Center Associates and the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation. Volunteers from the Placerita and other nature centers in the county parks system – along with a dozen different nature-related organizations, from the Sierra Club to the Sierra Pelona Rock Club to the Local Group astronomy club – were on hand to demonstrate what they do.

For information about the Placerita Canyon Nature Center and to get involved in the Nature Center Associates, visit Placerita.org.