Introducing the Touch Mystery Box! Our new craft activity challenges children to use only their sense of touch to help identify objects found in nature.

Sometimes, it might seem a little scary to reach into a dark box without knowing what might lie inside. Not only does this activity help children make inferences based on their sense of touch, but it also encourages them to be brave!

Find the instructions here: https://aldoleopoldnaturecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/ALNC-Activity-Touch-Mystery-Box.pdf

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“Just because something doesn’t do what you planned it to do doesn’t mean it’s useless.” —Thomas Edison

What does Thomas Edison have to do with goldenrod, pictured above? More than you might think!

In the late 1920s, Edison searched for a plant that could provide a domestic source of rubber in the wake of Henry Ford’s and Harvey Firestone’s automotive inventions. One of his most promising candidates was goldenrod. He even cultivated plants that grew up to 12 feet tall!

Edison died in 1931 before his experiments produced a goldenrod tire, but his connection to the plant lives on in Solidago edisoniana, a species named in his honor.

Goldenrod tires never hit the road—but goldenrod is putting on quite a show in our prairie. Come see it for yourself!

Photo: Jamie Kollman, Aldo Leopold Nature Center

#PhenologyFriday #CanadaGoldenrod #WIEnviroEd #NatureIsEverywhere #NatureIsForEveryone #EveryBodyOutside ...

Look closely. Only the strongest pollinators can enter this bloom!

Cream gentian is a native Wisconsin perennial that blooms in late summer, and its pale, tightly closed flowers are now appearing in our prairie.

Bumble bees are its primary pollinators and among the few insects strong enough to push through the flower’s small opening. Once inside, they rub against the anthers to collect pollen before shimmying their way back out.

Cream gentian thrives in sunny places with moderately moist soil, but it is uncommon in parts of its range. So when we find one, we admire it closely and then leave it be!

Photo: Jamie Kollman, Aldo Leopold Nature Center

#PhenologyUpdate #CreamGentian #WIEnviroEd #NatureIsEverywhere #NatureIsForEveryone #EveryBodyOutside ...