June 2007
Prairie School Project
Saturday, June 16, 9:00 am-4:00 pm
Workshop at Midway Village & Museum Center. For K-12 Teachers (Earn 6 CPDUs).
Co-sponsored by Midway Village & Museum Center and Severson Dells Nature Center
Award Winning Prairie Curriculum. Get hands-on experience doing many activities centered around the tall grass prairie — a native Illinois habitat. In 2003, this curriculum won first place in a national competition, beating the National Park Service. The curriculum is correlated to the state standard.
Midway Village & Museum Center will be hosting a workshop on the Prairie School Project this summer. This award winning curriculum, which will be taught by Kristin Jacobson, co-author of the curriculum, is specific to Illinois and will provide teachers with 6 CPDUs. the goal of the Prairie School Project is to encourage environmental stewardship and ecological restoration of the Illinois Tallgrass Prairie by instilling educators and students with a sense of uniqueness of native prairie habitats.
The Prairie School Project materials include a comprehensive teacher’s manual which covers background, Illinois State Learning Standards, worksheets, assessment ideas, and extensions to be done in an actual prairie. Another component is the Teacher CD which has easily accessible and printable files, projects, games and other materials. There is also a Student CD which functions like an electronic encyclopedia of the prairie and includes many plant and animal profiles. Cost of the CDs is included in the registration fee. There is an additional fee for the optional purchase of the manual.
Cost: $40 includes Continental Breakfast and Lunch, Prairie School Resource CDs for Teacher and Student. Register by June 9: Call Midway Village & Museum Center, 1-815-397-9112, ext. 116. Workshop held at Midway Village & Museum Center, Education Center, 6799 Guilford Road, Rockford, IL 61107
Harlem Hills Prairie Stroll
Wednesday, June 20, 9:30-10:45 am
Join naturalist Don Miller on this tour of a gravel hill prairie. Harlem Hills Prairie is one of northern Illinois largest and finest prairies. We hope to catch it at peak display of pale purple coneflowers. (It will knock your socks off!) Call 1-815-335-2915.
Harlem Hills Prairie Evening Stroll
Wednesday, June 20, 6:30 pm
See above for walk description and phone.
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July
Kids & Grandparents
Friday, July 6, 9:30-11:30 am
(For kids ages 5-12.) The natural world offers so many great opportunities for children to explore with an adult along to help guide their curiosity. During this program Severson Dells staff will provide activities that give kids and their grandparents the chance to explore nature together. One does not need to be a nature whiz to do these activities. Free to members of “Friends of Severson Dells”; $2/child for non-members. Call 1-815-335-2915 to register.
How Many Light Bulbs Does It Take to Change a Community?
Energy Conservation at Home and in Your Neighborhhood
Wednesdays, July 11, 18 and 25, 6:30-8:30 pm
Using less energy through improved efficiency and lifestyle changes is crucial to the transition from fossil fuels to renewables, and to slow global climate change. Tried-and-true conservation methods as well as new creative ideas are necessary to make the needed impact.
These sessions are designed to present a variety of traditional conservation practices that individuals can easily adopt, as well as to discuss ways that those practices can be more widely promoted and utilized.
The first two sessions will be at Severson Dells. The last session will be a field trip to the home of session leaders Mary and Keith Blackmore to view energy conservation practices that they have adopted. Fee: $10 to members of “Friends of Severson Dells”; $15 per nonmember. Call 1-815-335-2915 to register. Limit 20.
Do Princesses Really Kiss Frogs?
Thursday, July 12, 9:30-11:30 am
Is there a prince or princess living at your house? You are cordially invited to the merry kingdom of Severson Dells for a rather splendid morning. Activities are based on Carmela LaVigna Coyle’s book, “Do Princesses Really Kiss Frogs?” If your royal kindergartner or first-grader would like to join us for a grand time, please call 1-815-335-2915. No fee, but reservations required by Wednesday, July 11.
Orienteering with Map & Compass
Saturday, July 14, 10:00 am–6:00 pm, with classes at 10:30 am and 4:00 pm
This is for those who want to challenge themselves at how well they can read a map and use a compass. You will be given a map of Severson Dells with several checkpoints marked on it. Your task will be to locate them. There will be two courses. The Basswood Course will have all checkpoints along established trails. The Shagbark Course will have some of the checkpoints located away from established trails meaning that some off-trail travel will be necessary. You may come at any time between 10:00 am and 6:00 pm to try either course. For those who would like some instruction, two 45 minute classes on map reading/compass use will be held at the Nature Center. These classes will start at 10:30 am and 4:00 pm. You may bring your own compass or borrow one from us. Please call to register if you wish to attend one of the two classes. 1-815-335-2915. No fee.
Searls Prairie Walk
Thursday., July 19, 9:30-10:45 am
Join Severson Dells naturalist Don Miller on this tour of a wet/mesic prairie. Searls Prairie is a beautiful prairie with a great abundance of prairie flowers. We will see awesome displays of blazing stars, rattlesnake master and many others flowers. Butterflies should be flying freely about. Call 1-815-335-2915.
Searls Prairie Evening Walk
Thursday, July 19, 6:30 pm
See above for walk description and phone.
The Hall Creek Scamper
Severson Dells Nature Center’s First Ever Green Run and Walk
Saturday, July 21
Green, serene, and lean. The Hall Creek Scamper will combine these three elements on July 21st in a morning full of fitness and education in nature. The event includes a 5k Open Race, a 5k Youth (high school and under) Race, and a 1 Mile Walk/Run/ Scavenger Hunt. The Open 5k will begin at 8 am. The youth event will begin at 8:45 and the walk at 9:30. Click here for all the details.
Almost A Full Moon Over Wilson Prairie
Saturday, July 28, 7:30 pm
A privately-owned 20-acre dry prairie, Wilson Prairie provides habitat for at least nine species of grasses and over 50 species of forbs. The NW corner of the preserve borders Sumner Creek. Come watch the sun set and the moon rise. Call 1-815-335-2915 for meeting place.
Bats at the Beach
Sunday, July 29, evening (at Pecatonica River Forest Preserve)
Kathy Martinez will lead this program for 5-10 year olds to learn of bats and pretend we are on a picnic at the beach with them. Free to members of “Friends of Severson Dells”; $2/child for non-members. Call 1-815-335-2915 to register, and for time and meeting place.
Eliza and the Dragonfly
Tuesday, July 31, 9:30-11:30 am
Based on the book of the same name, activities for this program will including going to the Severson Dells pond and looking for baby dragonflies. Children of all ages are welcome. Free to members of “Friends of Severson Dells”; $2/child for non-members. Call 1-815-335-2915 to register.
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August
Adult Explorers’ Day Camp
Thursday, August 2, 9:00 am-noon
Why do we let the kids have all the fun? Adults: while the kids are away, let’s play! Learn how to use a compass, slosh in the creek, make a fire with flint and steel and much more! We’ll bring out the “Earthplay” in all of us. Fee: $5 members of “Friends of Severson Dells”; $10 non-members. Call 1-815-335-2915 to register.
Native American Astronomy
Thursday, August 2, 7:00-8:30 pm
Across the North American continent, indigenous peoples tracked the stars for a variety of reasons. This slide presentation reviews our knowledge of how Native Americans developed devices and techniques to track the movements of the sun, moon, and stars to develop calendars. William Iseminger will introduce audiences to these devices, with specific references to Cahokia’s Woodhenge, mound alignments in Georgia, Louisiana, and Ohio, “medicine wheels” in the Great Plains, Pueblo structures in the Southwest, and similar structures in Mesoamerica. Presenter, William R. Iseminger is one of the world’s foremost experts on the Cahokia civilization. He holds an MA in Anthropology from SIU-Carbondale, and has worked at Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site for many years. Free. This program is made possible in part by an award from the Illinois Humanities Council, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Illinois Assembly.
A Night of Wonder
Saturday, August 11, 8:30-10:00 pm
Bring your blankets, maybe some refreshments and take in the sights and sounds (and maybe some smells) of the summer nights at Severson Dells. We’ll meet at the shelterhouse and watch shooting stars blast across the skies. We’ll turn on the “moth light” and watch as they flock in, listen for owls and smell the humid forest air. A good night for the whole family. Members of “Friends of Severson Dells” only. (What a perfect reason to join, give us a call.) Reservations are a must. 1-815-335-2915
