Science Lesson #4: Bird Tagging

 Imagine holding a wild bird in your hands.  You and your kids can.

Bird banding has been used to study wild birds since the late 1800s to understand migration and anatomy.

Your local park and recreation department or conservation site may allow the public to join in the efforts.

We lived near Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve, located near Evansville, Indiana and owning 190 acres of virgin forest.

The naturalist put up nets and captured birds.  The kids were so excited to hold the bird in the bag.  Then the naturalist explained why they record bird species and quantities and showed how they add the tiny bird band without hurting the bird.  As an extra treat, each kid got to hold one bird and release the bird.  We saw a variety of birds in such a short time and saw them so close.  We marveled at their bright colors and beautiful feathers. The kids were delighted to touch the birds.  No binoculars needed!

Bird banding connects with migration; it's seasonal, so plan ahead.  Here's seven places you can take your child to bird banding (note some experiences may be "demos" and less "hands on").

1. Forest Preserves of Winnebago County - Durand, IL (near WI border) - June
Free event at Colored Sands Forest Observatory, one of the largest small bird banding operations in the country that is still open to the public.  Event targeted to Kingergarten to 6th grade students and includes a hike within the three hours.

2.  Three Rivers Park District - Lowry Nature Center, Victoria, MN - multiple dates
First public nature center built in the Twin Cities invites groups of 10 or more for free.  Songbirds trapped, studied, and tagged with numbered wings.

 3.  Cleveland Metro Parks - North Olmsted, OH - January
Rocky River Nature Center captures birds from the feeder and bands them.

4.  Bird Walk and Bird Banding - Southern Pines, NC - October
Weymouth Woods has a bird banding station.  Free event takes 2-3 hours and includes a 2 mile hike.  Check out www.ncparks.gov

5.  Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center - Washington DC
Free event at the National Zoo where zoo scientists conduct bird banding demonstrations.  Four hour family festival includes a book signing.

6.  Creek Band Farm Kids Bird Banding - Fremont, OH, Sandusky County Parks Districts
1.5 hour event to learn why and get close up (birds in the hand!).  Check out lovemyparks.com

7.  Bird Conservancy of the Rockies - multiple locations and dates
- Ridgeway Banding Station - Ridgeway, CO - open house in Sept.
- Ela Banding Station - Grand Junction, CO - September to mid October
- Chatfield Banding - Littleton, CO - Aug. to Oct.
- Fort Collins Banding - Fort Collins, CO - April to May
- Barr Lake Banding - Brighton, CO - Aug. to Oct.
- Chadron Station State Park - Chadron, NE - open to the public Labor Day weekend
- Wildcat Hills Banding Station- Gering, NE - schedule a program

Science Lesson #4: Geology - Where to See Liesegang Bands

     USA Today lists Illinois Garden of the Gods as the most natural wonder in the state according to it's article "The most beautiful natural wonder in every state, from Lake Tahoe to Niagara Falls."  It's taken over 320 million years to sculpt the beauty of the Garden of the Gods State Park in Hebron, IL (not to be confused with Garden of the Gods in Colorado).  Take a day to visit Shawnee National Forest.  Enjoy the panoramic views and appreciate the geology. 




     According to the University of Illinois Institute of Natural Resource Sustainability Illinois State Geological Survey, Garden of the Gods park in IL is one of the most geographically complex areas of Illinois.  Bring water and snacks for the car ride and use the restrooms ahead.  You'll only find pit toilets at the park, even in the campground.
For edutainment, hike the easy 0.25 mile Observation Trail.  When described as easy, this does not mean safe - there's no rails and rocks can be slippery.  Described as an interpretive trail, the trail includes history and geology informational signs.

The "Bizzare Bands" sign helped explain the geology:  "Bizarre Bands.  The dark, reddish-brown swirls and rings on these rocks are called liesegang bands (pronounced L EE' ZEH GANG) named after German chemist Raphael Liesegang.  Long ago when this sandstone was underground, it was saturated with groundwater mixed with iron.  Chemical changes caused the iron to solidify as rust between the rock particles.  Held together by iron, the raised dark bands have resisted weathering as compared to the softer, light-colored rock.  the pattern of bands are the result of these chemical changes.

Art Lesson #7: From UK to US, Art Light-Based Installations Bring Joy

The UK artist Bruce Munro has created many solo exhibitions in the United States.  Visit his website to see his latest exhibitions.  When interviewed, Munro discusses how life is about telling stories.  Bruce tells his stories in immersive large-scale light-based installations as a way to express ideas and feelings and communicate connection.  He wishes his art to bring a feeling of joy and measures success as making others smile.  I certainly smiled and felt joy seeing his art at the "Forest of Light" exhibition at the Atlanta Garden. 

From my parking spot, I walked through Piedmont Park and enjoyed the sights and sounds of music and laughter at the local festival.  I wanted to arrive early to the light event, seeing it both in daylight and darkness.  Considering the exhibition included six pieces, I had a lot of ground to cover. 

I was mesmerized by his piece utilizing lights in clear plastic soda bottles.  Arranged as circular towers, the light took height.  The lights would change from one primary color to another.  To add to the magic, you could see the Atlanta skyline from a distance.

The garden canopy, my favorite piece, consisted of 30,000 flower-like stems that lit up on the ground.  The light moved and made the garden feel like a fairy-tale.  The frosted glass orbs and fiber optic lights pulsated and made me want to stay in the garden.  I'd walk back and forth, across the bridges to keep myself immersed in the lighted space. 

Bruce Monro began as a painter.  He recognized painting as being about light and light as a way to discovery.  Many public gardens will bring exhibits to their grounds to display art.  I encourage you to discover these special exhibitions.  Check out your local garden events pages and immerse yourself in a joyful place.

Science Lesson #3: Geology - Salt Mine -Strattaca in Kansas

 Few salt mines allow the public to tour.  There's the Bavaria Mountains and Salt Mines tour in Salzburg, but when I visited Salzburg, I opted for the Mozart tour and The Sound of Music Tour.  Poland has the Wieliczka Salt Mine Tour and Pakistan's Khewra Salt Mines attracts approximately 250,000 visitors per year.  I'm not sure when I'll take my kids to Poland or Pakistan. 

After researching US tours, I found one place - Strattaca, located in Hutchinson, Kansas.  Thanks to the Reno County Historical Society and two companies, the Hutchinson Salt Company and Underground Vaults and Storage company, the Kansas Underground Salt Museum opened to the public in 2007.  It's the only working museum that exists in a working salt mine anywhere in the Western Hemisphere.  Voters named it one of the "Eight Wonders of Kansas" (2008).

Formed 275 million years ago when the Permian Sea dried up, it's one of the largest salt mines in the world and still mined today.  When you descend 650 feet below the prairie surface on an industrial elevator (and our group chose to keep the lights off - cool!!!), you walk out and see the vast space.  It's 300,000 square feet of mined out area.  Ceilings are 10 to 17 feet high.

 Kids read every sign in their geology exhibit, listened to short history videos, and checked out the equipment.  As Chicago residents (and people who need to get to work, no matter what the weather), we need to really appreciate this place - it's a source of the salt used to melt the ice and snow on our roads.  The museum fund raises to expand the exhibit. 

We bought the Blast Pass ($19 adult, children $12.50).  Besides admission, you get two tours:  1.  Dark Ride (30 minute tram tour explaining air flow and mine hazards), and 2.  Train Ride (15 min. Salt Mine Express shows the active areas of 1940s and 50s including the garbage that never disintegrated).  Kids tend to love hands on activities, so when the tour gave them a small bag and told them they had a few minutes to pick a piece of salt from a pile, they were excited to find their own souvenir.


The salt mine also serves as a secure storage facility, holding original Hollywood movies and many other documents.  An exhibit explains.

For a real treat, the museum offers special Scout and 4-H overnights.  Boy Scouts may earn their Geology and/or Mining in Society merit badge.

Gym Class #7: Lumberjack Competitions & 6 Shows

Take your kids on a verbal history trip before visiting a lumberjack show.  With all the cheering and jokes, they may miss the connection to our European ancestors settling America, logging, and building wood homes.  Logging camps set up in the north.  Log drivers rode and drove the logs down the strong river currents from the forest to the sawmills.  When the spring thaw came, logs rafted downriver.  Wisconsin turned out 3.4 billion board feet of pinewood by the end of the 19th century.

No doubt your kids will have fun cheering on the lumberjacks at a lumber jack show. Most shows have multiple events such as the boom run, speed climb (competitors can reach 60 or 90 feet high in what seems like no time), chainsaw carve, crosscut sawing, and axe throw.  Multiple times I've seen these lumber artists carve a bunny chair right before the audience eyes and a lucky boy or girl goes home with a naturally cute chair.

The log roll always pleases the crowd.  Competitors stand atop a log, try to keep balance, can't cross the center line, and try to stay on the log longer than their opponent while spinning the log in water.

These shows focus on the families.  I find the lumberjacks to really enjoy kids asking for their autographs after the show.

Considering the logging history, it's not surprising that many of the shows locate in northern states.  In fact, the Lumberjack World Championships international competition takes place in Hayward, WI.  Shows can be seasonal, so plan ahead.  Here's six shows:

1.  Jack Pine Lumber Jack Shows - Mackinaw City, MI - June to September
Rated #1 attraction in Mackinaw City (TripAdvisor 2013), features nine-time World Champion logroller Dan McDonough, 1 hour show, $14 adult, $9 children

2.  Paul Bunyan's Northwoods Lumberjack Show - Wisconsin Dells, WI - May and June
adults $18, children $11

3.  Fred Scheers Lumberjack Show - Hayward and Minocqua, WI - May and June
1 hour show $14, children $9;

Hayward also hosts the World Championships and includes a Family Night deal ($40 entrance for 2 adults and up to 4 children) on Thurs. night of July 28-30 2016.

4.  Great Maine Lumberjack Show - Trenton, Maine - June to Aug.
12 events including power hot sawing and underhand chopping; adults $12, child $8

5.  The Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show - Ketchikan, AK - May to Sept.
#1 in shore excursions for Alaska, voted Alaska's 10 Best by Travel Channel

Perhaps you have a hankering for a lumberjack show and it's off season, never fear, you can go to this year round show:

6.  Lumberjack Feud - Pigeon Forge, TN - year round
Show includes dinner, 19 events, ESPN athletes,  and World Champion Timberdogs. Adults $50, children $20

Most shows have relatively reasonable ticket prices.  If you really want to get a great deal, go to a county or state fair offering a free lumberjack show.  I've seen shows at the MN State Fair, Utah State Fair, and the IL State Fair (Timberworks Lumberjack Show featured in above photos, a traveling show, located within Conservation World on the fair grounds)

History Lesson #5: Maritime History in Outer Banks North Carolina

 Roanoke Island Festival Park and Elizabeth II offers historical lessons about both Native Americans and the Roanoke Voyage of 1585.  This 25 acre interactive historic site represents the first English settlement attempt in 1585.  The museum had several interactive exhibits capturing the kids imagination including 16th-century and pirate costumes and ship ropes to pull. 

Taking a wooded path, you will discover the American Indian Town educating tourists about the homes and agriculture of the Algonquian culture.  Two longhouses represent the historical homes of American Indians, including one measuring 30 feet long.  Outside stands a ceremonial dance circle. 

The kids most enjoyed the 16th century representative ship of Elizabeth II located in Shallowag Bay.  It represents one of the seven English merchant vessels from the Roanoke Voyage.  Enthusiastic interpretive staff encouraged the kids to turn the capstan to raise the ship's anchor.  The kids examined the lines and riggings while the adults simply appreciated the views from the quarterdeck. 

The square-rigged sailing ship replica has a relatively short history; constructed in Manteo (across the waterfront), it was dedicated in 1984 and even Her Royal Highness Princess Anne attended.  The admission cost ($10 adult, $7 children age 3-17) was well worth the cost.  Tip:  check the website ahead for a $1 coupon.

 If you want to find other maritime museums in the United States, check out the Council of American Maritime Museums (CAMM) website with an extensive list including:

1.  Hawaii Maritime Museum (Honolulu, Hawaii)
2.  Maine Maritime Museum (Bath, Maine)
3.  Portland Harbor Museum (Portland, Maine)
4.  Fells Point Maritime Museum (Baltimore, MD)
5.  American Merchant Marine Museum (Kings Point, NY)
6. Toms River Seaport Society Maritime Museum (Toms River, NJ)
7.  Michigan Maritime Museum (South Haven, MI)

Gym Class #6: Little Yogis & 3 Yoga Festivals

North Star Resort, Photo by Krenda

Vacation gives you an opportunity to unwind and explore new places, meet new people, and try new things.  My friend had a gorgeous wedding at North Star California resort in Truckee, CA (near Lake Tahoe), so I looked into kid friendly events on the resort and found the Patagonia store offering a free yoga class. 

Yoga, like vacation promotes relaxation.  Kids have stress too.  Schools feel pressure to reduce recess and gym class and add more tests.  Yoga helps teach focus, self-control, respect for others, and inner-strength.  Little Flower Yoga and Yoga Ed work to incorporate yoga into classrooms.

Physically yoga helps strength, balance, coordination, and body awareness.  Kids have natural flexibility, so my kids beamed as they found doing the postures called asanas easier for them.  Plus the instructor kept praising their skills, calling them future little yogis.

Yoga class emphasized mind and body working together.  We concentrated on breathing called pranayma to calm and refresh.  Breath deeply and fully, stretching on the inhale and relaxing on the exhale.

The poses also have names that help kids imagine.  You usually hear about downward dog, but yoga has so many more poses.  The kids especially like the animal pose names like cat, cobra, cow, lion, locust, fish, butterfly.

Yoga began in India.  It means "union" in Sanskrit, an Indian language.  It means coming together of mind and body.  Check out your local gyms for classes.  Many offer prenatal and baby yoga classes.

If you want to sample yoga at home, consider YouTube videos like Cosmic Kids which has kid specific yoga videos at no charge if you accept advertising.  Consider a yoga mat, but all you really need is comfortable clothes.

If you want to sample yoga with live trainers, consider a yoga festival with kid activities:

1.  Commongrounds (Loring Park, Minneapolis, MN) in July
All day pass $80, morning or afternoon only $45, single class $25
Bonus - "kids camp" free with event ticket and pre-registration for 4-12 year olds, a full day of fun (8:45AM-5:15) including activities such as hula hooping, circus yoga, peaceful ninja show, storytime, and yoga games like mat tag)

2.  Tuscon Yoga Festival (Gene C Reid Park, Tuscon, AZ) in October
free registration, free yoga
Many types of yoga including Yoga Nidra, Vinyasa, Acro, Yin, Yoga in Spanish, plus meditation

3.  Yoga Fest (San Jose/Bay Area, Christmas Hill Park, Gilroy, CA)
free for children under 12 and kids clases
Main stage includes a variety of yoga classes (gentle Hatha, Sri Sri, Sukshna), meditation for world peace, and multi-cultural performances (African drums, Mexican dance, and Chinese dance)

History Lesson #4: Tall Ship Windy Pirates and 6 Pirate Events

"Arrgh!"  Kids seem fascinated with pirates.  Perhaps sparked by a movie like Treasure Island, Hook, Peter Pan or Pirates of the Caribbean.  With our Hollywood costumer sister-in-law knowing Johnny Depp of Pirates of the Caribbean, there is even more intrigue.  Seems odds to talk more about people who commit crimes, but it is a part of global and American history.

Our kids learned more about pirates in a fun manner by taking the Tall Ship Windy "Skyline Sail with Tales of Real Pirates" cruise on the lake.  Tall Ship Windy conveniently docks at Navy Pier which has lots of restaurants and attractions.  You might connect pirates to ocean-lined states, but the Midwest had pirates too.  Pirate Dan Seavey used fake port lights along the lake shore so ships would crash on the rocks and he could steal their goods.  Dan Seavey was charged with piracy, crime by ship, on the Great Lakes.  River piracy concentrated along the Ohio River and Mississippi Valley.

The Tall Ship ride included pirate costumed employees leading a treasure hunt while the parents relaxed.  We admired the Tall Ship and enjoyed the Chicago skyline view.  The Tall Ship measures 148 feet and categorized as a traditional four-masted gaff topsail schooner.  This schooner takes claim as the first certified four-masted traditional sailing vessel built in the U.S.A. since 1921.  The book 100 Places That Can Change Your Child's Life lists Chicago as a must see site "With 50 acres of parks, promenades, and gardens jutting into Lake Michigan, Navy Pier is always thronged with Chicagoans.  Its websites details the area's many attractions, from amusement park rides to shoreline cruises.  Kids can help raise and trim the 11 sails of the tall ship Windy, and take a turn at the ship's wheel."

The 75 minute ride costs $30 for adults and $10 for children.  Plus consider Chicago parking fees.

If you want to spark kids imagination about pirates, but not visiting Chicago, consider the following six events:

1.  Pirate Fest Las Vegas; Las Vegas, Nevada (April), Craig Ranch Park
Treasure map for kids, jugglers, musicians, and a puppet show, $15 adult, $10 children age 5 to 11 years old

2.  Central Missouri Pirate Fest; Kansas City, MO
Foam sword battles and fire dancers, $7 admission, free for children age 5 and under

3. Blackbeard Pirate Festival; Hampton, VA (June)
Arts and crafts, music, fireworks, Little Scallywags Lagoon for young children including carousel ride and digging for treasure

4.  Pirate Party on the Beach; Virginia Beach, VA (May)
Pirate re-enactors, bandana-making, face-painting, and weapons demonstrations

5.  Vero Beach Pirate Fest; Vero Beach, FL (Sept.)
living history pirate encampment, authors, historians, kid's treasure hunt, cannon demo

6.  Michigan Pirate Festival; Grand Haven, MI; Loutit District Library
bellydance class for age 4-12, storytelling, mini golf, puppet show, and costume contest

If you want to ride a schooner, but not the Tall Ship Windy, consider Tall Ship Witch.  Read about our trip on Tall Ship Red Witch within article "Sports: Yacht Competition and Six Schooner Rides".  

Agriculture Lesson #4: North Carolina Zoo Bee Exhibit & 7 National Pollinator Events

  Bees serve us in so many ways, most importantly as a pollinators of fruits, vegetables, and flowers.  The world has other pollinators, but bees perform about eighty percent of all pollination worldwide.  Bees also produce honey from the sugary secretions of the plants, aka floral nectar.

When I toured the Google headquarters and ate lunch on a picnic bench, I noticed they had their own beehives for fresh honey - impressive!  In exploring the Fairmont Edmonton, Canada patio grounds, I delighted in the inclusion of beehives.  You don't need a special invite to a corporate headquarters or luxury hotel in Canada to show your kids beehives.

The United States is a major honey producer, ranked third after China and Turkey.  If you search events, you can likely connect your child to a local beekeeper who manages hives of domesticated bees.  Also, I like to look for bee products at farmers markets such as honeycombs or flavored wax honey sticks.  The kids love to taste sweet honey.

My family took time to explore bee hives and educational materials at the North Carolina Zoo located 75 miles west of Raleigh, NC in Asheboro, North Carolina.  Entry costs approximately $15 for adults and $11 for children.  We also watched a live hive at the KU Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum.  Admission is a suggested $7 for adults and $4 for children.  If you can't visit an exhibit or museum, go the to the KU Natural History Museum website for a link to the live bee cam.  Kansas designated the honeybee as the official state insect.

Unfortunately pesticides, air pollution, habitat destruction, and drought contribute to bees dying.  According to Greenpeace, worldwide bee colony collapse occurs as winter losses exceed the norm - especially in the United States.  Europe has placed more restrictions on pesticides.  You and your family can celebrate and support bees by joining events during National Pollinator Week in June.  Visit the website pollinator.org for updated events.  Here's 7 examples of past events across the country:  

1.  Bees & Brew at the Botanical Conservatory; Fort Wayne, IN

Suit up for a beekeeping experience with live beehives, sample raw honey, make DIY beeswax candles at the Foellinger-Freeman Botanical Conservatory

2.  Bee Bee Q; Detroit, MI

Fundraiser with silent and live auction, live music

3.  Wild! Heritage Pollinator Party: Huntington, WV

Make your own pollinator plant pot out of recycled materials at the Heritage Farm Museum and Village, see a colony of bees

Couldn't resist the costume.  He's so sweet, he's my Honey!

4.  BeeFest; Salt Lake City, UT

Enter your kids in the kids pollinator costume contest.  Event entrance free and you can support by buying plants or honey-baked items.

5.  Meadowbrook BeeBlitz; Urbana, IL

Train on how to photograph bees and upload photos to Bee Spotter, meet at the Garden Pavilion 

6.  Bugs & Brews; Denton, NE

Take an evening walk through the prairie and enjoy refreshments and presentation by biologist working with farmers and conservation groups

7.  Meet Our Beekeper; The Episcopal Church of the Advocate; Chapel Hill, NC

Watch Piedmont Patch beekeeper demonstrate the equipment at the hive besides pond where volunteers planted over 1,000 native grasses and wildflowers

She's my Honey too!

Gym Class #5: Kids Sailing Camps from High to Lower Cost

Hoofer Sailing Club

UW Madison, Photo by Krenda

Before classes at University of Wisconsin Madison even begun, I took the Hoofer sailing club up for a deal to sail for free as part of orientation.  Not only did I love the sport, I met lifelong friends.  Now when strolling outside Memorial Union, I always admire the sailboats and imagine having a little more time to sail on the water.

Sailing may seem unobtainable for kids to begin due to lesson prices.  I've done a bit of research for you to show that sailing can cost thousands of dollars to begin, but it does not have to be so expensive.  Look beyond the yacht club and search park programs or YMCA camps.  In descending order from most to least expensive, here's eleven options:

1.  Adriondack Camp (Putnam Station, NY) offers a diverse sailboat fleet including Mercury Sloop, Capri Sloop, Lasers, Sunfish, JV Sloop, Classic 420, and 6 Flying Juniors; 2 week session $4,600

2.  Coral Reef Yacht Club (Miami, FL) teaches 8 to 17 year olds $750

3.  Coconut Grove Sailing Club (Miami, FL), learn how to rig, launch a boat, basic knots, and develop wind awareness; age 6-17 9AM-4PM $600

4.  San Diego Yacht Club (San Diego, CA) host of the Junior Olympic festival, fleet of 24 new CFJ sailboats; $590 for Junior Summer sailing

5.  Northwestern University Sailing Center (Chicago, IL), 420s and lasers, 9AM-noon $575

6.  Premier Sailing (The Tides, Irvington, VA), founded in 1998 by Irish sailors, one week young sailors course for age 6-17 $445

7.  Sail Sand Point (Seattle, WA), non-profit community boating center, separated by age such as youth beginner (8-12 year olds), teen beginner (12-17 yr olds) $410; same pricing at the Corinthian Yacht Club in Seattle

8.  The Watersports Camp (San Diego, CA), sponsored by the YMCA, basic sailing morning camp and option to upgrade to afternoon activity for only $50 incremental; $370

9.  St. Petersburg sailing (Florida), Learn to Sail Camp for age 7 to 12 teaches rigging, steering, and maneuvering around docks 8:30-4:30PM; $321

10.  Sail Buffalo Sailing School (Buffalo, NY), Junior Sailing Camp Nautical Day Camp 9AM-4PM age 8 to 18; full week $294

11.  Hoofer Youth Program (UW Madison, Madison, WI); sailing day camp 10AM-4PM or beginner racing (3 hours) for $265; also offers windsurfing lessons

12.  Wilmette Park (Chicago suburbs, IL) group sailing lessons age 9-15, 8 lessons 12:30-2:30 or 3-5PM, learn on Lake Michigan; 12 students max. per class; $196 each

Before the kids begin lessons, give them a head start by teaching them the terms:  rudder, centerboard, tack, stern, boom, head mast, jib, jibstay, jibsheet, bow, etc.