Approaching Fall Guide--Lists of 5!

The Michiana Summer Guide was popular, so I thought I'd put together a few items for fall that may be of interest. I encourage you to also check out the Natural Calendar of Events that I host on Inside Outside Michiana, as there are many neat nature activities in the area.

A few things we like doing as fall approaches . . .

Festivals:

1. The Pow Wow up in Dowagiac is super cool! We love the bright colors, ceremonial dances, and fry bread.


2. Heritage Day at Bonneyville Mill is always a tradition for us! See information on the September 12, 2015 celebration here.

3. Check out Owl-o-Ween at Gene Stratton Porter's house. We had lots of fun! If you don't want to make the drive, Woodlawn Nature Center will have a Creatures of the Night Festival on October 10, 2015. Also, check out El Bosque Encantado through Merry Lea.

4. Go back in time! We really enjoyed Stone Trace in early September. The prices were inexpensive and there was plenty to see and do. Take a walk in the past  Gathering at Five Medals is October 17 and 18, 2015. It's always been great as well.

5. Holiday at the Mill is a fun time to get ready for the holiday spirit! It's usually early in November.

Holiday Activities: 
Halloween Nature Fun is a great way to look at the natural side of the holiday. Hosted at Woodlawn Nature Center in Elkhart. Check for other seasonal activities.

Halloween Hayrides at Oxbow--I don't have a blog post about this, but we've gone several years, even before we lived up here! Be sure to get your tickets early in the day as they will sell out. There are corny jokes on the hay ride, yummy treats, and decorations as you walk through the trails.

Check out natural holiday decorating ideas from Linton's. This was a fun class! Woodlawn Nature Center is hosting a class in early October.


Fall Activities:
1. Go apple picking at Kercher's or another orchard. See our 10 Reasons to Go Apple Picking.

2. Visit a fall activity area. We have enjoyed Knollbrook Farm and Pumpkin Patch for several years.

3. Go to a nature center! Visit Kalamazoo Nature Center, Fernwood in Niles, or Woodlawn Nature Center in Elkhart. All are great places to see as the seasons change. A "preferred" membership from Woodlawn Nature Center offers reciprocity to these other great places! Pair your visit with a program and a hike.

4. Go camping! I love the crisp weather of fall for a bonfire and sleeping in a tent! Woodlawn Nature Center is hosting a very reasonably priced family campout in September. Preregistration due by September 13.

5. Take a fall hike! We really enjoy Lieber Nature Preserve in Bristol. We also had a great fall walk at Wellfield Botanic Gardens. This is a perfect place to snap a few seasonal pictures, too! We stopped one evening when we had on costumes, making it even more exciting.

Try it at Home: 
1. Try using leaves as part of your art or play. See 11 Ways to Play with Leaves.

2. Build fine motor skills with Pumpkin Pounding and other pumping decorating. 

3. Go on a fall flower hunt! See our Ideas for Fall Flower Hunts.

4. Fall is a harvest time. Start collecting seeds and pods. See 20 Things to Do with Seeds, Acorns, and Pods.

5. Spend some time with trees! Check out this popular post about the nature preschool program at Woodlawn Nature Center.

You might also enjoy the Summer and Winter Guides as well! 

By the way, we absolutely LOVED the Maker Faire in Fort Wayne! In 2015, it was in August. Watch for it next year. Regional tinkerers shared their love for creating things. I could see the creativity level of my children soar!

Finding Nature at the Elkhart County 4-H Fair

It's fair time at the Elkhart County 4-H Fair! That means many families and others are heading out in droves to consume fair food, look at the exhibits, and listen to the entertainment. We also had to check out the new activities and see the boys' projects. I'm sure we will be back, so look for  nature filled updates.

A fun new experience (Thanks, Jayco for sponsoring it!) is the Kidz Science Safari. It's like a small, portable science museum. We love science museums! Strollers and wagons and such should be left outside. We left the stroller out and just took our valuables inside. No food or drinks are allowed either, which is understandable in a hands-on place like this. There were plenty of activities!

 

Sugar Camp Days!

This is our second year visiting Sugar Camp Days at Bendix Woods County Parks! What a tasty adventure! Here is our report from 2013 if you are interested.

There are several areas within Bendix Woods for the event. We started near the historical encampment where we found candle dipping. My kids have done this many, many times so we skipped it, but many children were enjoying it! I know mine have enjoyed it in the past.

While it's neat to see the encampments, I really enjoy talking to the people more as they share information about the time period they represent, how artifacts were used, and bring to life the past. 

 

Shipshewana Ice Festival

It's always a treat to visit Shipshewana! We went last month for the tree lighting ceremony. We have a few stores we like to visit like E&S (remember to bring cash!), Rise & Roll, and what was once known as the Cheese Factory. My husband and I remarked today that we'd like to return without the kids soon and just visit the shops downtown. While we enjoy being with the kids and taking them to Shipshewana, their attention span may be shorter than how we would like to explore the city.

Gathering at Five Medals

This is the second time we've been to the Gathering at Five Medals. It is held in River Preserve County Park, with parking at the nearby Benton Elementary School. This year the cost was $4/adult, $2/child. There are food vendors as you enter and various items for sale at varying booths. And, there is nature, in many forms!

Bonneyville Mill Heritage Day

It was Bonneyville Mill Heritage Day on Saturday! This is a slightly new format from what we have seen in previous years, with a shorter time frame, new name, and slightly different focus. We've been going to the celebration for the last several years, even before we lived in the area. It can be a great time to visit with family, grab a few treats, enjoy activities and music, and explore the outdoors. True to form for the last several days, it was a chilly morning, warming up later in the day. We appreciate the effort of Elkhart County Parks and numerous volunteers in putting this together!

Maker Faire: A Tinkerer's Dream!

We made it the the Maker Faire in Fort Wayne, sponsored by Make Magazine and TekVenture, a public art and technology laboratory (SUPER COOL). My mom gave my husband a subscription to the magazine a few years ago. We knew it had COOL stuff in it to try and do and suspected the Faire would as well. I learned about it from a local new media artist, Sarah Soriano. I also found a Groupon, which made it an even better deal!

Let me first say, that I mostly would not consider this a "nature" event; however, it was superb and we did find nature!

These chain saw carvings below were done by an artist near Ft. Wayne. I loved the mushrooms and natural themes!

I also found a family team from Goshen that has a neat, automated pumpkin carving machine--the punkinBoT! They're carving on a fall fruit or veggie (which is it? FRUIT!), so I call it nature. I enjoyed talking to the son who shared good resources for Goshen. They actually have a group that gets together on a weekly basis with free space to work on these types of projects in Goshen. They mentioned sharing their vision with others as they worked on their prototype and others would offer suggestions and ideas to make it happen. Makerspace: Goshen meets on Thursdays at 5:30pm at The Local, which is it's own unique space!

We also were able to try out telescopes and received more in formation about the Ft. Wayne Astronomical Society. It's a bit of a drive for us on a regular basis, but they meet on clear skied Saturday nights for star gazing and meet at St. Francis University's Schouweiler Planetarium every third Tuesday of the month at 7:30pm.

I had just seen a swing similar to this on Pinterest this morning. It is hooked up to some type of programming that understands gravity and the timing of swinging. If they swing at the normal intervals, they shouldn't get wet as they swing through the air, with water dripping from above. Pretty fascinating! Water=Nature! 

We also saw GEEK chocolates from Sweets So Geek. They have an Etsy shop and ship easily! I saw recycled bird feeders, sensors that could change light based on the color of fruits while connecting the circuit, and turkeys made out of welded found metal items from Black Sheep Welding. I thought it was SO neat that my six-year-old actually welded his own metal sculpture with their help! Thanks for this experience! I saw others making butterflies and flowers--nature! They also were selling dragonflies and pigs. 

  

 

Other cool finds . . . several 3-D printers--this was from Allen County Library! I had not seen one of these, so it was fascinating to see in action. There were other objects made of "found"items, put together in unique ways. There was also an antique printing press--what neat machines! 

There were ROBOTS everywhere. This exersaucer with toddler in tow, was remotely driven by a nearby adult. How amusing to see a young child whizzing by! It might be easier than asking the older boys to bring the baby to me. There was also a twinkie shooting mobile! There were also Lego robotics courses. My oldest is in a club at school for this. It's fun to see the possibilities! The boys could have stayed all day at the remote controlled race car track.

  

There were so many exhibitors with unique activities. I saw wooden pieces glued together for sculptures, the metal welded sculptures, and then rockets as well. There were electronics, textiles, 6-seated bicycles (yes, six!), and more! I've actually seen whole families of six ride ONE BMX style bike while on a mission in the Dominican Republic about 15 years ago. Mom was on the handle bars with a baby, another was in front of Dad on the seat, and two were on the pegs on the back wheel. This would be handy for them. 

 

Everyone really enjoyed the Cirque Amongus! There was a rope to try tricks. I loved how willing this guy tried different techniques. My husband showed off his mad juggling skills. They had huge wooden balls to stand on, throwing sticks, tiny bicycles, unicycles, hula hoops, and more!

 

This was a huge marble run from many different parts and pieces. Way to recycle! We also were intrigued by Touching the Impossible, a carver who works with the Mobius Band. As of right now, he has made 701 beautiful sculptures/optical illusions around these principles. The Mobius Strip can be found in nature, too! 

 

This is another business out of New Paris. Te Maak makes a spin casting machine in many types of shapes. 

They enjoyed making their cookies! We also explored home made airplanes.

We also liked the BMX show! What fun to see people flying through the skies, doing flips on bicycles! will say that I saw heightened creativity in the kids while we were there immediately. This young guy became intrigued with his shadow, much more than I've seen him in the past. He was experimenting with all types of ways to move his body to see how his shadow reacted. Well worth it! I did the standard "butterfly" after he was being a contortionist! We had a great time!