The Nature Center at McCormick's Creek State Park

As part of our experience at McCormick's Creek State Park for the Certified Interpretive Guide Training, we visited the onsite nature center. It shows the history of the area and the natural life of McCormick's Creek. Feel free to check out my reaction to the park as a whole here.

I dropped my things off in the auditorium for the upcoming presentation and couldn't help but notice all the artwork on the walls. I'm excited to try some of these techniques!

There are several display cases to help understand animals of the area, like the white tail deer. I liked seeing the skulls and various bones up close. 

I like clean water! Seeing a visual of water pollutants can help understand the situation in more depth.

As I entered the main hall, the tracks on the floor drew me to the fossil section. The interpretive display helped me understand more of the fossils that are found in this area. There is an interactive quiz to match fossils with their descriptions and how they might have looked millions of years ago.

Displays led us through animals of Indiana's past, like the muskox. I also could investigate the trees of the park and history of growth. The wildlife viewing window was a comfortable place to watch the nearby animals without disturbing them. 

There are interactive elements, such as these magnifying glasses, and information throughout the center. There are questions and answers to various nature questions.

There are a few live animals as well as animal puppets. The animals can be mesmerizing to watch. This is a fun little corner for the children. 

Displays help the visitor understand how stones were used by the Civilian Conservation Corps to build stone bridges. They also built many building with the natural resources of the area. Many of these structures still stand. I like there are hands-on activities to explore the concepts in more depth. I missed having my boys there to try them more. 

The Center also looks at the the history of farms that were in the area. Children can try out chores such as making butter. Visitors can also learn about animals from the area.

There were several hands-on activities to explore. Look at those textures!

There is a playground nearby. If here with my boys, we'd definitely make a stop at the playground after exploring the nature center and taking a nearby hike!