Wild Child Packs
Originally Published in WNC Parent and Asheville Citizen-Times
Summer is made for children to get outside. The sunny weather, the rich colors, the beautiful landscapes — nature is in a riot of life.
Children who visit the WNC Nature Center are encouraged to not only look at wildlife but to interact with their natural environment through Wild Child Packs. Thanks to a grant from REI, the Center is able to provide a fun and educational activity for kids.
With a paid admission, Wild Child Packs are available at no extra charge to be checked out at the front desk of the Nature Center (first come, first served). Each pack is brimming with real field tools used to monitor native ecosystems as well as activities for kids to complete. Soil and field thermometers allow kids to learn how shade and sunlight, proximity to water and more affect the temperature of the soil, thereby determining what can live where. Magnifying glass, measuring tape, pocket scope and compass give kids free reign to create their own experiments and adventures as they find interesting rocks, weird insects or wild plants. There’s even a field guide to songbirds, in case a budding bird watcher spies one of the many species that regularly visit the Songbird Garden.
Wild Child Packs are designed to engage children of all ages and encourage them to spare more than a passing glance to the world around them. Get close, get involved and learn while respecting the habitats and delicate balances of the environment — that’s what being outside is all about!
Like all things wild – come and see, go and find out!
