Woodlawn Nature Center had an Animals in Winter theme with animal puppets, furs to touch, books, animal track stamps, and hibernating animal puppets to make.
One little girl (not in the picture) didn't want to touch a fur, so we introduced her to the plastic animals and making tracks in the snow. Then I showed her a small fur piece in a box and eventually a larger fur. Eventually she went over to the Elkhart County Parks table and touched a snake there! Her parents came back to let us know. It was neat to see the incremental warming up to investigating the animals more.
Elkhart County Parks had a snake to touch and investigate and plenty of things to touch and feel.
Families tried to match the furs to the animals and touched many of the items on the table.
Both Elkhart County Parks and Woodlawn Nature Center offer field trips, outreach programs, and other group programs. Elkhart County Parks also offers many types of professional development for educators. While there are many ways to connect to nature, these are certainly fun and educational ways to explore and learn!