The Nature Museum Offers Unique, Open-Air Adventures For Kids And Families This Spring And Summer

GRAFTON, VT - Research indicates that children's play has shifted dramatically in the last two decades. Childhood has moved indoors, away from the unstructured outdoor play that many of us remember as a child. The average American boy or girl spends as few as 30 minutes in unstructured outdoor play each day and more than seven hours in front of an electronic screen, according to the National Wildlife Federation. The Nature Museum asserts that contact with and understanding of the natural world is vital to a child's development and for the future of our planet.

The Nature Museum is offering a number of inspiring programs for youth and families, including summer camps and other fun, hands-on indoor and outdoor experiences that cultivate a deeper relationship with the natural world.

Little ones aged 3-5 years old will enjoy The Mighty Acorns Club adventures. On Thursday, May 18, from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m., your Mighty Acorn can learn all about nature's unsung heroes, the bees. Seeing bees at work is magical. The group will spend time inside learning about bees and outside looking for all types of pollinators in the Museum's garden.

The following month, on Thursday, June 15, from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m., The Mighty Acorns Club will explore the secret world of the pond. Will we find a dragonfly nymph or maybe a bullfrog or two? This preschool nature explorers club meets inside the Museum and explores the outdoors on a variety of adventures to field, forest and pond throughout the 90-minute, hands-on program. Children should be dressed for spending some time outside. Drops-ins are welcome! Pre-registration is encouraged but not required. Cost per child is $5; caregivers are free.

Families are invited to join a Kindred Spirits celebrating pollinators on Saturday, June 17, from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. Did you know that most of the bees in a hive are female or that bees dance to tell their co-workers where to find a patch of flowers? Come celebrate the start of summer with us and learn about bees and pollinators. Walk through our garden and surrounding fields with our Environmental Educator to learn more about these amazing insects and animals! The Kindred Spirits program series is designed to offer a shared experience for families to develop a strong kinship with nature and each other. Programs will take place rain or shine, with hands-on activities both indoors and out, and are by donation.

The Nature Museum will also offer a few different of open-air adventure camps this summer: Brave Bears for ages 6-9 and Wild Walkers for ages 10-14. These camps are instructive, hands-on experiences that get youngsters youth outdoors exercising their minds and bodies. Accredited environmental educators teach lessons that build resiliency skills in a safe and nurturing environment.

On Friday, June 30, kids ages 6-9, can join Brave Bears, a day camp to enjoy a full day of activities in the woods, ponds, and fields around The Nature Museum. Brave Bears runs from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Week one of Brave Bears, is scheduled for Monday, July 10, through Friday, July 1, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Wild Walkers is set for Wednesday, July 19, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Week two of Brave Bears will take place from Monday, July 24, to Friday, July 28, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Wild Walkers, for kids aged 10-14, is a partnership between The Nature Museum and Vermont Wilderness School, a Brattleboro-based non-profit. Skilled instructors from both the School and Museum will guide campers in a safe, fun and respectful experience in the woods and fields around The Nature Museum.

All program participants should wear protective shoes and clothes that can get wet and dirty. Registration is now open for all spring and summer programs at www.nature-museum.org; all fees are listed on the website. Please email Kimberly Galandak-O'Connor, Director of Education at [email protected] for more information.

Located at 186 Townshend Road in Grafton, Vermont, The Nature Museum is a non-profit museum that offers hands-on natural history exhibits, nature programs for adults and children, plus an annual Fairy House Festival. More information can be found on The Nature Museum Facebook page (www.facebook.com/naturemuseumatgrafton) and at (www.nature-museum.org).