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Ohio Nature Education

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Program Descriptions (Child/Family)

Animals We Love to Hate: This program features the animals that are most often feared and disliked: bats, spiders, snakes, and possums. We will eliminate myths and include natural history facts which show how beneficial these animals are. Includes live animals. (Program available for adults as well)

Astronomy: With programs available for classrooms, scouts and after-school enrichment, Astronomy can be conducted both indoors and out, at day or night. We have a new telescope and binoculars for celestial viewing should weather allow.

Bats, “Shadows of Night”: Activity-based program that dispels myths about bats. Includes interesting facts and tells why bats are beneficial. Includes “Test your Bat IQ,” live bats and study skins. (Program available for adults as well)

Birding by Ear: Teaches how to identify birds through song. Can include live birds and study skins and outdoor activities. (Program available for adults as well)

Birds in Folklore & Native American Life: This program discusses how Native Americans used bird feathers in everyday life and how colors were a representation of different attributes. We’ll discuss the significance of “coup” feathers, rewarded for acts of bravery and what these symbols represented. A matching game with various bird study skins will demonstrate the roll that birds have played in many cultures. Live animals included. (Program available for adults as well)

Birds of Prey: Activity-based program which teaches about Ohio’s hawks and owls. Includes live birds and study skins. (Program available for adults as well)

Birds – Our Feathered Jewels: Activity-based program which teaches about the diversity of birds. Includes live birds, study skins, and nests. (Program available for adults as well)

Birdwatching: Offers a brief introduction to birds before going outdoors (on school property or other site) for birdwatching. Can include live birds and study skins. Binoculars provided. (Program available for adults as well)

Damsels & Dragons: Discover the world of the Odonata – the Damselflies and Dragonflies! We’ll introduce you to these fast flying jewels of pond and field by turning a member of our audience into a dragonfly! Specimens and live predators will be available for viewing.

Elementary Insects: Designed for children in primary grades as an introduction or review for the insect unit of your curriculum, we’ll turn a member of the audience into an insect to study the physical characteristics of this amazing group of animals. Many visuals which include live predators included.

Flutter By Butterfly: Activity-based program which teaches about lifecycles and physiology of butterflies and moths.

Frogs & Toads: Discover the world of these amazing amphibians by “testing” your knowledge with a fun quiz. You’ll also learn how to understand frog & toad languages too! Live frogs and toads will be available during spring & summer sessions. Also includes live predators such as an owl and snakes.

Habitats and Seasons: Children learn about different Ohio habitats and their value by participating in a game show like activity. We also discuss how wildlife adapts to the changing seasons. Study skins and live animals included.

Insect Jeopardy: an elementary school program that teaches insect basics while using a game show format. Also includes a brief study of butterflies and moths.

Nature Detectives: This program is designed for the classroom. Children look at a display of nine wildlife “clues” and write their observations. We then discuss the clues and view some live animals which leave us these nature signs. Pelts, skulls, tracks, scat , pellets also included.

Nocturnal Animals: Activity-based program which teaches the physical characteristics that distinguish nocturnal animals from diurnal (daytime) animals and enable nocturnal animals to survive. Includes live animals. (Program available for adults as well)

Ohio’s Bicentennial – Wildlife 200 Years Ago: Join a real pioneer woman as she takes you back to Ohio 200 years ago when Ohio was more than 90% forested. Discover what animals wandered in the woods and prairies. Live animals, study skins, pelts, and skulls. (Program available for adults as well)

Owls: Activity-based program which teaches about Ohio’s eight owl species. Includes live bird and study skins. Can include an owl prowl. (Program available for adults as well)

Project Wild: Activity-based program which includes games that teach children about all aspects of nature.

Reptiles and Amphibians: Activity-based program that teaches the similarities and differences between reptiles and amphibians. Can include live animals.

Spiders: Meet Arachne the Spider when she visits to teach you about her cousins, the spiders of the world. Includes specimens and live spiders.

They’re Nothing to be Afraid of!: This is a unique puppet show program for younger children that follows seven year old Sunny through an enchanted night in the woods, where she encounters some wild friends who teach her how helpful wild animals can be. Following the puppet show, we’ll reinforce what we’ve just learned by allowing children to touch some pelts and study skins, and to view some live animals.

Those Bee-Utiful Bees: An interactive program that takes you into the life of the honey bee and discover why they are so beneficial. Find out how Mrs. Van became a beekeeper (sort of!) not by her choice, but because the bees showed up on her porch one day — all 2-3 pounds of them! Study skins and live animal. (Program available for adults as well)

Trees: Activity-based program that makes learning about trees fun. Includes tree identification, including identifying the different parts of a tree. Can include live tree-dwelling animals.

Weird, Wonderful, Wacky Wildlife: Sure to be a hit with kids! Join us as we explore the stranger side of wildlife, from animals that eat their mates to those who use vomit as a defense mechanism. We’ll take a look at the darker side of nature and, of course, give you a close up view of some live animals. This program is recommended for ages 7 and up.

Who Are The Critters In Your Neighborhood: Think you know the common backyard mammals? Think again. We’ll share with you some little known facts about common Ohio mammals and TEST your knowledge. Live animals and study skins included. (Program available for adults as well)

Wildlife as Meteorologists: Activity-based program which looks at weather lore as fact or fiction while exploring how wild animals deal with the changing seasons. Includes your choice of live animals. (Program available for adults as well)

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