Carolina Raptor Center

We decided to take advantage of the homeschool day at the Carolina Raptor Center.  It has been several years since we have visited the center and we were happy to go back.  This time we brought friends to share the experience.

The children were amazed at how smart the corvids are!  These are quite interesting birds.  They can pick locks, use tools, remember schedules, etc.

We enjoyed the raptor presentation on the owl.  They are quite amazing raptors.

The trails at the center are nice and the birds are displayed nicely.  It is a perfect mix of nature and raptor.

The eagles are always majestic and the kids love looking at them.

We thoroughly enjoy our time at the center.

NC Arboretum

Our nature group went to the NC Arboretum and had a wonderful time.  This is a wonderful place to explore for all ages and the price of $12 per car is great!

We explored the Wonderful World of Insects exhibit.  The large animation displays of various insects was very interesting.  The kids loved it and learned quite a bit about insects.

The Legos in Nature exhibit provided much excitement for us to find and marvel over.  The Lego sculptures were placed throughout the gardens.

We hiked the nature loop and had a great time.  Thank goodness the weather was cool!

We enjoyed the bonsai garden, the model railroad garden, and the quilt garden.

We will definitely come back when they change out the exhibits for a new adventure.

I Spy - Nature Style

This week's nature walk brought us to Hatcher Garden in our community.  It is a lovely nature park in the midst of an urban area.  I discussed with the children the importance of accurate description in plant identification.  So, they were able to test their skills of descriptive adjectives in our walk.

We paired the kids up and had them pick different paths to take.  One partner would stop and turn their back to their partner.  The partner would take ten steps forward and pick out something to describe.  They would describe the plant the best they could using a variety of adjectives and then go back to the partner.  The partner would take ten steps forward and try to identify the plant.  They took turns being the describer.  As they progressed, their descriptions became better and better.

Harry Potter's World Renaissance Science, Magic, and Medicine Exhibit

Our local library system hosted the NIH exhibit on Harry Potter's World Renaissance Science, Magic, and Medicine.  We have not read the Harry Potter series, but decided to check out the exhibit.

I was a bit disappointed that the library didn't add more to the banners that the NIH sent for display.  For kids, this was not that exciting.  For adults, it was somewhat informative.  I think much more could have been added to draw people into the exhibit.  They also placed the display in a weird area and discussion about the exhibit really couldn't take place.

So, for Little Man, he wasn't that impressed.  I had made a scavenger hunt for us to use.  I really wish the library had created one.  Egee was a trouper and we both answered the questions on the scavenger hunt.

The exhibit has piqued an interest in the Harry Potter movies for Egee, so I guess we will be watching those soon.