Fall at the Outdoor Discovery Center

We had our first trip to the Outdoor Discovery Center last week!  It was a beautiful day for our trip, and we learned so much in a short amount of time!  Our guide, Ms. Jennifer, was a wealth of knowledge and we appreciated all that she taught us!

We began inside.  The kids were given some time to look at some live animals like turtles, snakes, and an owl in tanks or cages.  In addition, there were multiple taxidermy animals to look at as well.

 

Seth, Nolan and Avari in front of the taxidermy bear.

Zariah, Lucy and Kayla try to scare you!

Kayla, Lucy, Zariah, BreAnna, Carson, Karis and Nick

Checking out the snakes and turtles.

More animals to check out along with a table of objects to touch.

In the cage is an owl.

The children were invited to learn about the fall seasonal changes, and how nature and animals adapt and change.  The first animal she taught us about was a painted turtle.  Ms. Jennifer told us that turtles stay in Michigan and do not migrate.  You can tell if it is a male or female by looking at the toenails.  Males have longer nails than females.  She even told us that the males will stroke a female's face with his nails if he wants to 'make friends' with her.  :)   The painted turtle's habitat is the pond. They are reptiles, and warm their bodies by taking in sun. In the fall, they are still active, but not quite as much because there is not as much sun for them to warm themselves in.

The next animal Ms. Jennifer showed us was a box turtle. This animal is also a reptile, but it's habitat is on dry land, mostly in wooded areas.  The box turtle has a special flap that can close up when the head is pulled in, making a 'box' to protect itself.  Ms. Jennifer also reminded us that if you find a turtle in the wild, to enjoy looking at it, but to put it back where it was found.  Box turtles are becoming scarce due to so many people taking them home for pets.  She also told us that if we find a turtle trying to cross a road, to help it get where it is going rather than take it back where it came from, because otherwise it will just try to go to the same destination it was headed toward.

We then moved outside.  Ms. Jennifer first asked the children about what changes they would soon be seeing in nature.  Of course, they mentioned leaves changing colors, birds flying south, and more.  Ms. Jennifer mentioned that there would still be a few flowers in bloom on our hike to and through the meadow, our first of three habitats we would view today.

These flowers not only look pretty, the center has a chocolate smell!

Volunteers wanting to add to the discussion!

Checking out the meadow.

Milkweed bugs on the milkweed plant.

Ms. Jennifer points out details in the meadow and asks what animals might live there and what plants might grow there.

Ms. Jennifer takes us for a hike right through the meadow. The grasses were taller than the kids!

Our next stop was the pond.  The kids were invited to lay on their bellies on the dock to look for animals in the pond.  Ms. Jennifer talked to them about 'being still' when viewing nature, because they would see more and animals would not be scared away.

We saw this green frog hiding in the seaweed.

A tadpole

Leopard frog

A large snapping turtle came close to the dock, was scared off, but came back to look at the kids briefly.

On our way to our next habitat, Dominic found a grasshopper.

Our next habitat to view was the woods.

Pretty leaf, Dominick!

Of course, there were many trees in the forest!  The kids knew all about leaves turning colors, but Ms. Jennifer also taught them about evergreen trees, which do not turn color or drop their leaves.  She showed us three different types of evergreen trees on our hike.

Cedar tree

White Pine

Blue Spruce

The kids were invited to feel the 'leaves' of the evergreen trees.

Pine cones at the top of the Blue Spruce

This plant is in the tomato family, but don't eat it!  Poisonous!

We stopped briefly at the bird feeding station.  No birds dared to come around with so many active kids and parents watching

We enjoyed our day at the ODC.  We will return again to view the same habitats and discuss changes in the winter and again in the spring!  When we returned to school, we recorded our favorite things we learned in a booklet.  When we complete the booklet after the third visit, it will come home as a fun memory of first grade.  Thank you to Ms. Jennifer for all that you taught us and a special thank you to the adults who joined us as well!

Before we left, I took a couple of class group photos!  I always ask the kids to smile nicely first, and then give them a chance to make a funny face!  So, here are our 'normal' pictures...

And... drum roll please... here are the 'funny ones'!  Enjoy!