Guided Discoveries: Mad Science II

By Jenn Reilly, Guided Discoveries Intern

Bubbling, fizzing, expanding, zooming, floating-these are all actions that will be part of the neat experiments planned for Mad Science II. Each day of this week’s program will center on a variety of science concepts, including water, motion, explosions, color and temperature, that will be integrated into every experiment we perform. Monday will begin our week with an introduction to the scientific method through an exploration of water and its unique properties. After gaining an understanding of such concepts as density and surface tension, the kids who join us for this program will be challenged to create a boat out of basic building materials that will float the longest and be able to carry the most weight. Each day after will follow this basic pattern that optimizes the time in which the kids have materials in their hands and are discovering scientific trends through their own explorations.

A second aspect of Mad Science II is the inclusion of outdoor activity and play time. From my observations of previous Guided Discoveries, the children seem to get as much out of creative exploration of the outdoors as they do when we present them with animals and experiments in the classroom. Jordan MacDaniel and I have designed most of the experiments for Mad Science II to be easily performed outdoors and to include natural elements that allows our kids to connect concepts with the world around them. Mad Science II is a great way guarantee that kids return home each day raving about all they saw and did, and to reinforce major science concepts in fun ways!

Register online or call 603-968-7194.

Guided Discoveries - Wild Tales II (July 13-17)

By Jenn Reilly, Guided Discoveries Intern

Has your child ever seen a woodchuck scamper through your back yard or a turtle hobble across the road and asked a million questions about it? Where is it going? What is it doing? How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Well those questions and more will be answered during the Guided Discoveries program Wild Tales II! Each day of this program will feature classic fairy tales and modern renditions of stories centered around the animals that live here at the Science Center and the wilderness of New Hampshire.

Planning for Guided Discoveries has given me an inside look into all the hard work and time that goes into making each program unique. I have also been provided an opportunity to work with Jordan McDaniel, who has been so generous to share her knowledge and expertise when it comes to providing children with exciting and thought-provoking experiences. Participants can expect to begin each day of Wild Tales II with a story featuring that day’s animals. There will then be lots of animal themed outdoor games and free play in our kid friendly pine grove. After having observed these activities for a while now, I can say that having outdoor fun is a treat for all of the children and they never seem to tire of it. Halfway through our program the children will get a chance to meet our live animal of the day. From a ball python to a skunk and everything in between, the children can observe the unique features that make our New Hampshire wildlife successful predators, prey, and members of our beautiful ecosystem. At the finish of each day, I can see that each child is eager to return home and teach their parents everything they learned and saw during that day’s program. With the unique extended day feature of Wild Tales II, the participating children will get to meet two live animals each day who have something in common with each other, whether it be a shared habitat or similar adaptation. With twice the animals comes twice the fun and memories that will inspire an appreciation of the New Hampshire wilderness in any child.

By Jordan McDaniel, Blue Heron School Associate Teacher, Guided Discovery Instructor

I’m in my fifth year as Guided Discoveries Instructor at Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, and have never been so excited about what I have planned. This summer I have had the help of an intern for the whole summer and together we have gotten really creative in the planning process. We have included the use of some different types of animals for our private mini talks, have scoured our resources for some fun, new crafts, and have come up with many new games to play. Each day is full of plenty of outdoor hands on time, crafts, games, interactions with animals and even some unstructured exploration in some of our more secluded areas on the Science Center grounds.

We have had many children return from previous years and met quite a few new friends. It’s really fun to see who is going to show up Monday, as I have seen many of them every summer since I have been here. I love the ability to establish a relationship with returning kids and their families, as well as making new friends. The children always bring something fresh and have helped me learn a few things as well!

We still have spaces available in programs such as “Up, down and around” and “Creature Features” so come check us out if you have not been here before, or come say hi if we haven’t had a chance to catch up this summer!

An Unforgettable Experience

By Aubrey Voelker, Program Intern

It's amazing how fast 11 weeks pass by working as an intern at Squam Lakes Natural Science Center. Being a program intern this summer was better than I could have ever expected. I got the amazing opportunity to work with so many incredible people and animals that made this summer an unforgettable experience.

 Interning at the Science Center involves three different rotations: animal care, outreach, and guided discoveries. During my animal care rotation I got to experience the vast amount of time and work it takes to care for all the animals that the visitors come to see. Most days consisted of cleaning enclosures, preparing diets, doing Up Close to Animals presentations, and a variety of other tasks that allow for no one day to be the same.

The outreach rotation involved going to different places all over New Hampshire, such as libraries and campgrounds, presenting live animal programs with the naturalists. Since I am from Wisconsin and have never been to this part of the country, I really enjoyed being able to travel all over this beautiful state and meet many new and interesting people; I even met a woman from Africa. These outreaches also gave me the chance to get to know the naturalists well and learn a great deal from them.

My final rotation was Guided Discoveries which are week long day programs for kids and each program has a different theme. I got the opportunity to help out with four different Guided Discoveries: Earth Songs, Reptiles and Amphibians, Plant Power and Wild Art. These programs gave me a lot of experience in educating younger students about the natural world around them. All the exciting activities that the students engage in allow for a great deal of learning to occur without the kids even realizing it because they are having so much fun.

While I was significantly able to expand my knowledge about the environment at the science center, I also had access to many other resources. Living in a rustic cottage in the woods, I was able to hear barred owls almost every night. Spending my days off on Squam Lake, I got to observe a variety of birds; a loon family even swam past me once while I was sitting on the dock. I even hiked to the summit of Mount Washington, observing a diversity of plants all the way up (we definitely do not have that kind of hiking available in the Midwest).

My short time at the science center is an experience I will never forget and will benefit me in my future. I cannot recommend this internship enough to anyone who is interested in studying anything relating to wildlife and the environment. This internship gave me experience handling a wide variety of animals, educating others about wildlife that they may find in their own backyard as well as preparing me for the road ahead after college. It saddens me having to leave the Science Center so soon. Every single person here made my summer incredible and I am so thankful I got to work with all the people and animals that make the Science Center so extraordinary.

Guided Discoveries - What's in a name?

By Miranda Furrer, Program Intern

Every summer Squam Lakes Natural Science Center puts on various summer programs for kids of nearly all ages. These Guided Discoveries are fun learning experiences for kids. But what does the name ‘Guided Discovery’ really mean? I suppose it means different things to different people. We can break down the name: guided and discovery. The guided part is the instructor. Each program has an instructor, someone who helps the kids enjoy their time here at the science center while learning about the natural world around them, and also usually a helper (often an intern, like me!). Now the discovery portion is unique to each child. This part is really up to them. Each program is packed full of activities that are designed to be both fun and educational. When you put those both together, you only begin to scratch the surface of what Guided Discoveries are all about.

Sadly, I am already done helping with my three weeks of Guided Discoveries. I helped with Wild Art, Geo Camp, Nature Sense, and Fabulous Flyers. I had a great time being able to help the teachers and watch the learning that was going on around me! My first camp was Wild Art, and at first I was a bit leery seeing how I have little artistic ability. As the week went on, I became more comfortable, as did the kids. The got to do a lot of neat nature projects and by the end of the week had a beautiful gallery to show their parents. There is another session of Wild Art in August so be sure to get your registration in!

Next for me was Geo Camp. I know absolutely nothing about rocks! The kids were able to use their imaginations and hands to create topographic maps and volcanoes. We also hiked up Rattlesnake Mountain and learned about how glaciers made Squam Lake. We even got to go to Ruggles Mine! Such a great week even though I did not have much interest in geology.

I will lump the last two programs I helped with together. Nature Sense and Fabulous Flyers. Both of these programs have a lot to offer kids, especially for the younger ones. In Nature Sense, the kids learn about the five senses. I’m sure the adults out there reading this can name all five of them!  Smell, taste, hearing, sight, and touch. Using each as a theme for a day, the kids got to see how different animals, including ourselves, use these senses. It is an interactive camp that 4-6 year olds loved. If your child missed out, don’t worry! There is still another session open for nature sense. Fabulous Flyers is all about, you guessed it, birds! The kids spent the week learning all about birds. How birds fly, how they make their nests, and we even got to go on a few hikes to do some actual bird watching!

Does any of this sound like fun to you? Or maybe to your child? Worried that you missed the sign up deadline? Not to worry, there are still spaces in a few Guided Discoveries this summer:

July 30 - August 3, Fabulous Flyers, Ages 5-6
July 30 - August 3, Science Sleuths, Ages 6-8
July 30 - August 3, Nature Notes, Ages 8-11
August 6-10, Night and Day, Ages 7-9
August 13-17, Nature Explorers, Ages 4-5

For more information about these Guided Discoveries please visit http://www.nhnature.org/guided_discoveries.html.