Creatures glisten in the sunlight as it warms the water around them. Plants push through the dirt and poke out of the stagnant pool like a tiny snorkel.

Then, plop, a child's bounce splashes this tiny ecosystem across the sidewalk.

Puddles can contain a great deal of tiny microbes, critters and plants of all sorts.

The Sterling Nature Center's Life in a Forest Puddle and A Child's View of Life in a Forest Puddle will both help participants explore and understand just what happens in those tiny puddles that linger about in nature.

Naturalist Jim D'Angelo will guide audiences through a look into the vernal pools of the nature center.

Vernal pools are small wetlands that temporarily fill with water to provide an essential habitat for frogs, salamanders, turtles and even a few snakes, the nature center's Web site explains.

A short slideshow will be presented before a hands-on outdoor study of the pools. Appropriate dress is requested. Both programs are free and open to the public.

If you go

What: Life in a Forest Puddle

When: 1 p.m. Saturday, April 12

Where: Sterling Nature Center

Cost: Free

Info: Call 947-6143

What: A Child's View of Life in a Forest Puddle

Where: Sterling Nature Center

When: 1 p.m. Wednesday, April 16

Cost: Free

Info: Call 947-6143