Oh What Seeds We Sow....

  It was an early start for our 4-H Jr. Master Gardener Day Campers as we left the office at 7:30 headed for the NC Life & Science Museum in Durham.  Our goal was to cross off as many activities in our JMG handbook as we can, to do that requires fun and learning.  So that is our mission for the day.
  Our first stop was the butterfly pavilion.  There we saw tropical plants, a large variety of butterflies, learned the difference between nectar and fruit consuming butterflies.  From there we learned about insects, conducted science, and were just overall amazed.
  After leaving the pavilion we went on a bear hunt.  Well not really but we did find some bears, red wolves and their new pups, and maybe our favorite find of the day were the lemurs.  From the adult perspective I must say how impressed I am with our youth.  They have an incredible thirst for knowledge.  and retain the most detailed information.  This means when we process the trip on Wednesday they will probably suddenly realize how much they saw and learned while they had fun.
  From animals to the power of natural elements, our next stop of the Power of Wind exhibit where our youth used the wind to navigate sailboats on the manmade pond.  From there it was natural to stop at the seed drop.  Large "seeds" attached to a magnetic carrier and launched into the air, kind of like real seeds.  However we learned really quickly that there was no telling where or how they might land.  The pattern was so random there would be no way to plan a landscape that way.
  After playing with air, we played in a humid, misty, landscape where you could easily get lost in the mist.  What was even more fun for the youth was getting wet on a warm day.  Although this seems like silliness it will let us talk about cloud development, humidity, and fog as we discuss weather and it is an example that will stay with them.
  It was then time to take a step back in time.  Traveling the dinosaur trail we met different dinosaurs and did our best to stay out of the way of these really large creatures that kept peering through the trees around every corner.  After all that excitement we stopped for lunch.
  With bellies full and being hydrated again we headed back to the museum but inside this time.  Our youth had a chance to make a tornado, go to outer space, see wildlife up close and personal and just have fun.  That is what makes this type of learning surprising for them.  Over the next couple of days they will put together the activities from today with the activities at the office and hopefully have some Ah Ha moments.  One day those Ah Ha moments could lead to great things...you never know where the seeds we are planting and where they might just germinate.