On Wednesday March 3rd,  the Kids Club After School Program & I learned about trumpeter swans from Drew Reed, Executive Director of the Wyoming Wetlands Society. He discussed with us how they manage the swan ponds, and how recovery programs have helped the local trumpeter swan populations grow. Drew even let us touch a swan's neck, and we got a close up view of their massive wings and large webbed feet. We observed Canada geese, and several mallards occupying the same pond with the swans. Thanks Drew! What an amazing experience!
Next week we're headed to the Visitor Center to complete the Jr Blue Goose Ranger program! 

On Sunday February 28th, the Center of Wonder partnered with the Teton Mentor Project to take participants snowshoeing up at the Bradley Taggert Lake area in Grand Teton National Park. 
Our day began at the Craig Thomas Discovery Center, where we learned about wildlife winter adaptations from a NPS interpreter, and checked out all the cool exhibits.
We visited the Murie Center to learn about the Murie legacy, and their resident bird biologist taught us about crossbills! We even got to see some crossbills up close, and learned about how biologists track the small unique birds using transmitters!
After lunch we followed animal tracks in the snow and discovered how fire changed the landscape on the Taggert Lake trail. We concluded our afternoon by hiking to Taggert Lake and enjoying the beautiful sunny day!

On Thursday afternoon, me and the kindergardeners at the After School Program decided to hike among the willows behind Jackson Elementary School. With our trusty land lenses, we immediately found several piles of ungulate scat in the area. 
After we found several piles of moose scat, we noticed evidence of moose browse on the willow branches, and moose beds beneath the willows. Many kids enjoyed sitting in the large moose beds, seeing how big their nap spots are!
As we wandered down the trail finding animals tracks and hearing birds sing, we found our moose! 
From a safe distance we observed the cow moose eating willow branches and enjoying the sunny afternoon. 

The kids were proud of their tracking skills, and told everyone about their discovery!

On Monday February 15th, I partnered with the Kids Club Program to offer a birding field day for kids in 2nd through 5th grade. In the morning, we created raptor masks and decorated life sized raptors, with wingspans cut from large rolls of paper. During lunch we watched Raptor Force, an exciting movie examining how raptors fly and their acrobatic skills. After lunch we were joined by a biologist from Craighead Beringia South who discussed our unique local raven population. We finished off our day driving north of town for a bird count, identifying ravens, trumpeter swans & even a couple of Barrow's Goldeneyes. On the last stop on our safari we saw a bull moose bedded down in the sagebrush, with bare spots on his head from his recently dropped antlers.  All participants recorded their observations in the field, and out data was entered into the Cornell Great Backyard Birdcount website.

I will be supporting various youth programs in the community with nature inspired activties and art projects. I'll be working with the Kids Club After School Program at Jackson Elementary on Tuesdays & Thursdays, and at Colter Elementary on Wednesdays. I'll also be working with the Children's Learning Center helping the Head Start teachers incorporate nature and wonder into their daily routine.