No Snowmen But Still Lots Of Smiles

Laura DeCook (center left) is seen here finishing up the hike her and over 50 students took as they looked at wildlife and hunted for fossils.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – The Jr. Naturalist Winter Day Camp was held on Thursday at the Russell Wildlife Area. Kids aged 6 to 12 years old were not making snow men, but were instead enjoying nearly Spring-like weather as they wondered amongst the many miles of trails and sights.

The nearly 50 attendees, Naturalist Laura DeCook said, “with this number of kids, I had to change my plans a little and with the nice weather, took advantage of it”.

DeCook and the kids stayed outside to go hiking, where they visited the fossil pits. There they were able to hunt for fossils and were allowed to keep a few that they found in a baggie and they used an identification sheet to find their own. DeCook said that the fossils date back 325 million years ago, when the area was “covered by a shallow sea across the state. They were fossilized in sandstone”.

Along the way, they made their way over the swinging bridge before heading back to the nature center to play some games, where earlier in the day they had the opportunity to hold some of the snakes that call the center home.

“We thought we’d offer this as a place where kids can go outdoors during the winter break”, DeCook said on why they offered the program. Once the bag lunch was over, kids had an afternoon full of watching a movie in the atmosphere of the nature center, with the “Ice Age 2: The Meltdown” on the big screen. The weather cooperated in the meltdown part as well, and the animals in the nature center would add that extra atmosphere.

I asked DeCook why they were inviting the kids to come out to the center. “Get out and get some fresh air. A lot of what I like to do is give them a chance to explore the outdoors on their own, be inquisitive and ask questions. How was this fossil formed? How old is it? Hey look at this track, what kind of track is it? We’ll talk about it. So we give them a chance to enjoy the outdoors.”

“I like it when parents come along too”, DeCook said. “They can see what’s out here and they can bring their family out whenever they want to enjoy the outdoors.”

The previous day, the Knee-High Naturalist had hit Winter Day Camp as well at Russell Wildlife, and those kids were welcome back for the Ice Age.

DeCook said that the center has at least 2 or 3 public events every month, with more being held during the summer while school is out.