Why Fall Fest is the Place to Be!

Still unsure about your Halloween plans?
Here are the top 10 reasons why Fall Fest is the place to be this Friday to celebrate with your family!

1. From the costume parade to the owl mask making, Fall Fest is a fun, hands-on and safe way to celebrate with your youngster! 

2. Fall Fest is not only fun, but educational too! You'll learn about owls, bats and the secretive world of nocturnal animals!

3. It's a one time chance to explore the moon as the astronauts see it—suspended in orbit 22,000 miles above its surface as you join the Hoot and Howl under our high definition six-foot in diameter global projected moon displaying NOAA & NASA planetary data!


4. You'll get an EXCLUSIVE sneak peek of our new hands-on exhibits and offerings like Storms 360 and the Madison Gas and Electric Renewable Energy Center!


5. Fall Fest is a FREE event for ALNC members! For non-members, the price is just $35 for the entire family--and the price includes a FREE family membership for ALNC!

6. When you join or renew your membership at ALNC, you'll be entered to win one of three frightfully fantastic prizes including a Romantic Spa Getaway, a Day of Family Fun in the Dells and a Staycation in Madison's Historic Dudgeon Monroe neighborhood!


7. Your little goblin can play the part of a weather man to make a freaky forecast with WKOW's "There's a Chill in the Air" weather station!

8. Fall Fest is a fun and exciting way to get your family hooked on nature!

9. From "shaking their bones" in the spooky storm to exploring our "a-maze-ing animal trail," we'll give your youngster plenty of fun!

10. Attending Fall Fest supports environmental education for children in our community at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center! Together, we can help create a sustainable future!

There's still time to register! Walk-ins will be accepted, but pre-registered guests won't have to wait in the registration line!

Remember, Fall Fest is tomorrow, Friday, October 28 from 5:30-7:30 pm at our Monona Campus (330 Femrite Drive, Monona, WI). Click here or call 608-221-0404 x1 to register today!

Signs of Life Wonder Bugs!

Dear Wonderbuggers,

Signs of life are everywhere! Cracked nuts and nut shells with chew marks. Holes in the ground. Leaf “nests” in the trees. Tracks near the pond. And lots of scat! That’s right- poop.  

In nature, you can tell a lot about the animals that live in an area by looking at the scat. For instance, we know that rabbits eat plants so their round balls of scat have pieces of plant matter inside. Also, rabbit scat looks different from raccoon scat which looks different from coyote scat which looks different from… you get the idea.

If you want a funny story about animals and their different looking scat, check out this book that we read at Wonder Bugs: The Story of the Little Mole Who Went in Search of Whodunit by Werner Holzwarth. It is sure to have you laughing about poop!

Are you excited about tracking or just want to learn more? Check out this site for great information and resources to keep tracking at home and on the trail.
 

This is Miss Tara signing off!

P.S.

I forgot to tell you about this very fun fall book. It is called We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steve Metzger. It follows the same general pattern as the camp song "We’re Going on a Bear Hunt" but it includes fall trees and colors with a surprise ending that will make you sniff and squeal. Check it out!

 

Next Wonder Bugs Session:
By the Light of the...
9:30-10:45 am
Tuesday, November 8 ( The Wednesday November 9 Session is FULL!)
Registration Deadline: Friday, November 4, 2011

…Beaver Moon! Furs and trapping. Don’t get caught napping. Singing, playing. Are the traders paying? Fun while learning. Today will keep you yearning! For all things beaver and more! Click here to register!

Blustery Flustery Fall!

On a gray cloudy day like today, it is easy to imagine that Fall is a time for nature to rest. Gone are the colorful blooms of summer, the baby goslings have all grown and the green of summer has left us once again. 

 

But like the farmers who are busy harvesting their end of season crops, the natural world is buzzing with activity this time of year! From beavers hurriedly gathering their winter stockpile of twigs and sticks to migrating birds beginning their journeys south, the work of the season has just begun!

So, venture outside today and challenge yourself to find the work of fall! Here are some things to look for:

• Red-winged blackbirds forming large flocks.
• Colorful asters and goldenrod blooming.
• Muskrats and beaver are busily gathering food and building lodges in preparation for winter.
• Listen close...do you hear anything? If not, that is because the katydids, grasshoppers and crickets. have stopped calling!
• Tamarack needles turning gold and falling.
• Black walnuts falling from the trees and squirrels stashing them away for a winter treat.
• Cattails and milkweed pods bursting with airy, floating seeds.
• Ducks, Canada geese, woodcock, and snipe migrating south.
• The Big Dipper at the lowest point in the sky.

 Remember, to join us at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center to find out more about Fall and celebrate the season with us at Fall Fest on Friday, October 28th! Fall Fest is free for members or $35 for non-members--a price which includes a complimentary membership for your family! Tickets are going fast, so don't delay--click here or call 608-216-9371 today!

Go to Fall Fest for FREE + Win Prizes!!!

Bring the whole family for a night of spook-tacular fun and learning at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center's Fall Fest, on Friday, October 28, from 5:30 - 7:30 pm!

Discover the creatures of the night and see what tricks we have up our sleeves in our new expansion at this FREE members' event!
•    Get a sneak-peek and explore our NEW hands-on, interactive exhibits!
•    Participate in a Costume Parade for the kids!
•    Make an owl mask and join the Hoot & Howl Around the 360 Degree Moon!
•    Visit creepy critters in The Haunted Shack!
•    Immerse yourself in the "eye of a storm" to hear and see weather phenomena up close!
•    Search for hidden nocturnal critters in the woods!
•    Learn about creatures of the night like owls and bats!
•    Enjoy festive refreshments!
•    Find out what's in store for those big green silos and more!

To top it all off -- Fall Fest is a FREE Members' event! Click here or call 608-221-0404 x1 to register!

Not an ALNC member? Register for Fall Fest for just $35 and we’ll give you a COMPLIMENTARY family membership and enter you in the drawing below! Plus, as an ALNC member you'll get great benefits all year long like discounts and advance registration on family events, programs, summer camps, free rental of our Family Trailside Backpack Program and much more! Click here to join today!

Plus, Join or Renew Your Membership & Get Entered to Win a Prize!

In addition to attending Fall Fest for free and receiving the great benefits of an ALNC membership, from October 3-28th, when you join or renew your ALNC Membership, you’ll be entered to win a prize drawing for one of three terrific prizes including a Romantic Spa Getaway, a Day of Family Fun in the Dells and a Staycation in Madison's Historic Dudgeon Monroe Neighborhood!
Click here or call 608-221-0404 to sign up as a member today! Prize drawing will be held on Halloween, October 31st.

Wonder Bugs - More Tails!

We know that many animals have tails, and that tails come in many shapes, sizes, and colors. So why do animals have tails? What are tails used for?

Tails can be used for many things! They can grab branches like an opossum’s tail. They are used for balance like a kangaroo tail. They are used for protection like a porcupine tail. They are used for “talking” like with wolves.  They are also used as rudders to steer in water like a muskrat. Can you think of any other uses for tails? What would you use your tail for if you had one?

While you are at home you can use a similar rhyme like we used at Wonder Bugs to talk about an animal’s tail. Stuffed animals or pictures can be used to go on a tail scavenger hunt in and around your house. Every time your wonder bug finds a different tail say the following rhyme, changing the animal name and the function of the tail:

Little cat, little cat, your tail I see.  You wave it around to “talk” with me.

Did you ever wonder why bears have such small tails? There are legends, tales and stories that try to explain the answer. Check out this site for one such tale.  How is this tale similar to the one about opossum? Why do you think bears have small tails? Do they use their tails for anything?

This is the tail end for this week!
Miss Tara

 

Next Wonder Bugs Session:
SIGNS OF LIFE
9:30-10:45 am
Tuesday, October 18 & Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Registration Deadline: Friday, October 14, 2011

Sometimes animals leave us clues like scat or tracks that tell us about their actions. Come be a nature detective and find the animal clues that might be right under your nose- or your foot! Click here to register!

Single session: ALNC Members: $6/child; Non-Members: $7/child
Package option: All 7 sessions: $38.50/members; $45.50/non-members

Wonder Bugs - Tails at Night!

Do I have a tale for you! It’s a tale of wonder and delight.  Once upon a time…a few small groups of intrepid and very young explorers set out in the middle of the night in search of nocturnal woodland critters. Not a soul was scared and everyone was able to see in the dark. They found a raccoon with a striped bushy tail washing its hands in the creek and a small opossum climbing down a tree, hanging on with its tail.  They courageously observed as a black tail with a white stripe was seen above the tips of the grasses; the skunk thankfully did not spray. At the end of the path they came across a creature covered from head to tail in feathers. The Great Horned Owl hooted and then flew in search of mice to eat. The explorers were excited and satisfied with their night hike and went back inside hoping for more. The end.

For the wonder bugs last week, that hiking adventure (written above in highly embellished form) was only the beginning of the imaginative fun! Opossums are marsupials or mammals that carry their young in pouches like kangaroos; they are the only marsupial in North America.  So the wonder bugs creatively used scarves and pine cones and pretended to carry baby opossum in their pouches. 

You can tell some animals apart by looking at their tails. The wonder bugs matched some tails with their “missing” bodies. It was also humorous seeing what a river otter would look like with a white cotton tail!
And let us not forget how wild it is to play dead, just like opossums. Can you do it without giggling? Can you do it without moving?  Ready, set, go!

Join us in two weeks on a search for Signs of Life!
Miss Tara

Next Wonder Bugs Session:
SIGNS OF LIFE
9:30-10:45 am
Tuesday, October 18 & Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Registration Deadline: Friday, October 14, 2011

Sometimes animals leave us clues like scat or tracks that tell us about their actions. Come be a nature detective and find the animal clues that might be right under your nose- or your foot! Click here to register!

Single session: ALNC Members: $6/child; Non-Members: $7/child
Package option: All 7 sessions: $38.50/members; $45.50/non-members
 

Fall Foliage Friends

Here's an easy, fun and creative way to get your youngster "in touch" with the season! Enjoy!

For more fall fun, remember to to stop by our upcoming Fall Fest Members Preview Party on Friday, October 28th for a spooktacular night of entertainment for your whole family + a sneak-peek at our exciting new Climate Education Center! Hope to see you there--click here to find out more!