Spring at the Outdoor Discovery Center

Can you believe it?  We had our final visit to the ODC this morning!  The kids were so very excited to see the changes after our visit in the winter!  As usual, the trip did NOT disappoint us!  Miss Vicki was our guide today, and she was awesome!  She held their attention and taught us some new things!

We began our morning at Founder's Hall.  We spent some time there when we visited last fall.  Inside are some living animals in glass cases such as snakes and turtles, as well as a barn owl in a wooden cage.

Barn Owl

Checking out the living creatures in Founder's Hall

Red Eared Slider

There is also a "Touching Table" in the front room.  On the table, the kids may touch and hold a variety of objects found in nature such as snake skins, antlers, feathers, turtle shells and more.

Mason displays the antlers while Seth giggles about it.

Crowded around the Touching Table.

After some time in the front area, the kids moved to the back room, where they found various types of taxidermy to look at.  They learned a little bit about the process used to create the taxidermy today.  Miss Vicki said that most of their taxidermy animals were donated to the ODC from personal collections after someone passed away.  Others were collected by the ODC after being hit by a car or found already dead. They then brought them to the taxidermist.  Miss Vicki explained (in simple terms) how it was done and that wires now hold the animals in place since the bones and muscles are removed.  She also said that the taxidermy is quite light since the insides are no longer there, and the inside is filled with stuffing.

Our next activity took place in the taxidermy room as well.  Miss Vicki had two living animals to show us and teach us about.  The first was a Black Rat Snake! The kids were excited to learn about the snake! Miss Vicki told us that tongue is used to smell and taste. It is forked because then it can 'small' in two directions!  Black Rat Snakes eat mice, rats, eggs, but NOT first graders!  Miss Vicki said that the Black Rat Snake is VERY strong and can climb itself (because it is a tree climber).  She showed us this amazing feat by stretching out the snake vertically and allowing it to climb up.  Miss Vicki then brought the snake around the circle for the kids to touch if they chose to (Yikes!)

The next animal Miss Vicki showed us was a toad.  Did you know that you can tell if a toad is a boy or a girl by holding it up by it's armpits?  Miss Vicki found this toad by her home, and brought it in for a short visit to the ODC.  When Miss Vicki held up her toad, we found out it was a girl because she made no noise.  Boy toads make a chirping noise when held by the armpits.  Miss Vicki said the boys make the noises to get the girl's attention!  But the FUNNIEST thing about the toad was the fact that when frightened, toads will pee (which this toad did a LOT of, and believe me, the kids roared each and every time).  Not so surprisingly, not as many children chose to touch it as Miss Vicki brought it around the circle.

Once we washed our hands, we lined up to take our hike outside to visit three habitats that we saw last fall and winter!  Our first stop was the meadow.  We noticed right away that the tall grasses that we saw last fall and winter were all gone.  After a few guesses why, Miss Vicki told us that every two years, the ODC hires a company to come in and do a 'prescribed burn' to control invasive species.

The green color is coming back after the Prescribed Burn

While walking through the meadow, we found some bones! After some guesses, Miss Vicki said that she thought they may be from a rabbit.  The kids were worried that maybe the animal died in the Prescribed Burn, but Miss Vicki assured them that heat and smoke would frighten animals away.  She thought possibly a coyote killed the bunny and the fire burned away the fur and insides.

One of the kids found something that we have seen before on our other visits... a gall!  It is formed when a Goldenrod Gall Fly lays it's egg in the stem of the Goldenrod plant, causing irritation.  The plant forms the gall around the egg.  Eventually, the egg hatches and the larva eats the inside of the gall to grow.  When big enough, it will push all it's fluids to it's head, which helps break open the gall to free it.  The fluid then returns to normal and off the Goldenrod Gall Fly goes!

Did you know that in a first grader's mind, anytime there is talk of poop or pee, it's hilarious?   Well, today we were 'fortunate' enough to also find rabbit scat (poop) in the meadow!  Oh, what a lucky find and as hard as they tried to remain calm, the hilarity ensued!  "Don't step in it!"

 Our next habitat we visited was the pond.  The kids always enjoy lying on the boardwalk and feeling the water.  There were some fish, of course some seaweed, and a few of us even saw a muskrat near the bank!  Did you know that in the winter, warm water goes to the bottom of the pond? The fish spend the winter near the bottom of the pond, eating a little bit, but mostly just hanging out.  But in the spring, the water 'flips', and the cold water moves to the bottom again, and the warm water to the top.  This encourages the fish to start moving around again.

 Our final habitat was the forest (but more like the woods). 

Miss Vicki shows us some Wild Strawberry.  She taught us how to tell the difference between this plant and Poison Ivy.

Wild Strawberry with the flower.  When the strawberries grow, the staff at the ODC will pick it and feed it to some of their animals on site.

This plant is called a Fiddle Head.  It will turn into a fern (see the fern nearby).

Close up of a Fiddle Head.

May Apple plant.

Trillium

Autumn Olive plant.  This is an invasive species that the staff at the ODC is trying to control.

We stopped at the same set of pine trees on our way back.  The kids remembered that they could actually eat pine needles.  Everyone seemed to give it a try... "It tastes minty!"

On our way back in, we made a quick stop at the bird feeders.  As we got closer, a few of us saw a squirrel feeding, but he ran off.  We were able to hear a Red-winged Blackbird nearby however.

 The picture below shows the area that used to house the elk at the Outdoor Discovery Center.  They are in the process of transforming the area into the Imagination Forest/Play area.  Miss Vicki was sure to tell the children that they should come back to visit with their families this summer and beyond.  There is no cost to visit, and there is much more to see!  Your child may even be able to teach YOU a few things about what they learned this year!

I would like to thank the wonderful ODC staff!  The guides are fantastic teachers who have a real passion about teaching children some amazing facts about nature!  The ODC is a treasure that we have at our fingertips.  Please take an opportunity to enjoy it with your family!

I would also like to thank the Hamilton Community Schools administration team, who provided the funding for the first graders district wide to visit each season.  A lot of learning (and fun) happened this year at the Outdoor Discovery Center!

And now... for the FUNNY ONE!