Buttonwood Nature Center, home of The Institute, is offering a new fall EXPLORE! program series timed for after school. Designed for children in grades K-5, the programs will run on four Thursdays: Oct. 3, 10, 17 and 24, from 4–5 p.m. at Pine Hill Recreation Area near Waynesboro. Participants may register for any or all of the four sessions.
All program activities are outside. Taught by Buttonwood educators, each program includes educational activities related to the season.
The four programs are:
Oct. 3: Fairy houses for Fall
Students will forage for materials to make fairy houses, collecting treasures from nature—leaves, rocks, sticks, vines and more—and learn how to build a fairy house in the woods, or in any outdoor setting. The group will read a story, build fairy houses and stretch imaginations while we spend time in nature!
Oct. 10: Painting with nature
Nature is beautiful to look at, but did you know it can also be used to create beautiful artwork? Students will go on a hike to find natural items that they will then use to make art—without paintbrushes. A creative way to look at nature.
Oct. 17: Gone batty!
Bats are amazing animals. They are the only mammals that can fly, and they find their food using “echolocation.” Students learn all about bats—yes, they do hang around upside down—while going for a hike, playing games and crafting a bat kite to take home.
Oct. 24: A peek inside a pumpkin
This program offers “hands-in-pumpkin” experience learning all about the life cycle of a pumpkin. Participants will have a chance to harvest their own pumpkin seeds—they are good to eat—and paint their own pumpkin to take home.
Pre-registration and payment in advance is required. Register for any or all of the individual sessions. The fee is $6 for Buttonwood Nature Center/Institute members and $7 for the general public, per child, per program. Limit: 15 children per program.
People may register their children online at: www.buttonwoodnaturecenter.org. For more information, they may email Buttonwood at jessica@buttonwoodnaturecenter.org or call 717-762-0373.
EXPLORE! programs are sponsored by The Anderson Family Fund, in memory of Vida Mae Anderson, and Buttonwood’s Today’s Horizon Fund Contributors: The Nora Roberts Foundation; Marge Kiersz; and the family of the late Carolyn Terry Eddy, including daughters Connie Fleagle and Kim Larkin. Facility support is courtesy of Washington Township.
