I woke the children up earlier than they are use to getting up. We have become night owls and the early bird stuff is hard to get use to! They stumbled around and got ready. Twenty minutes down the road, I noticed both were sound asleep. The drive is a good hour and a half. So, I enjoyed the peace.
We finally arrived and the children were excited to see what events were taking place. We confirmed our registration and made our way into the building and downstairs. A coloring contest was taking place before the Fish Story. Both children colored. Little Man did a good job with his fish considering he loathes coloring.
We listened to the story of the water cycle. It provided a wonderful review for the children. After the water cycle, the Fish Story was read. The reader asked various questions about pollution and the effect it has on our water and the animals in the water. All the children were attentive and eager to answer questions.
Next, we headed up to the auditorium to learn about how the Cherokee Indians took care of the area. It was a nice lesson centered around the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) and how the Cherokee did all these things when living on the land. The children learned about the watershed in Oconee County and how it is very important to protect it.
We went outdoors to visit the different displays. A young man, probably 10 or 11 years of age, was demonstrating how runoff of waste, oil, dirt, etc. makes its way into streams, rivers, and lakes. The children learned about various types of insects, while playing Bug Bingo.
We made our way to the Butterfly Garden. Egee painted a bumble bee on a watering can and Little Man painted a toad house. We then explored the garden area and learned about the plants in it and the insects it attracts.
The children then played the Environmental Challenge Game. They were asked a series of questions and when they got the right answer, they rolled the die and moved along the game board. They had a wonderful time doing this and answered almost every question correctly. It made for an excellent review. Egee won the game, due to the fact Little Man kept landing on 'go back to start'!
Finally, we finished with the Tour of Energy in the World of Energy building. This is very nice semi-interactive exhibit. The children learned about the different ways to harness energy and convert it into usable power. Although, we did not listen to every short video (Little Man was bored) they gained more knowledge than they previously had of how we obtain our electrical power. (We will come back another day and learn more.)
I was surprised at the overall turn out to the event. It was nicely done and if we had more time, we would have ventured down to the lake for a picnic. Oh, well, this leaves us something to do the next time we make the long trek back to Oconee.
