Birdwatching for Beginners with Washtenaw County Parks & Recreation

Are your kids interested in nature? Do you look for outdoor activities and events? Do feathered friends intrigue you? Do you know a scout that might be interested in this fun, free program? Then grab your binoculars, a bottle of water and plan to have some fun as Washtenaw County Parks & Recreation and Naturalist Faye Stoner introduce the family to Birdwatching for Beginners.

Birdwatching for Beginners gets the entire family outdoors together.
Check out this free event on April 5 at Independence Lake at 9:00 a.m.

On Saturday, April 5, 9:00-11:00 a.m. at Independence Lake (3200 Jennings Rd, Whitmore Lake, MI 48189), families will enjoy an hour of slides and discussion about bird identification using field marks, habitat, behavior, and songs, followed by an hour spent outdoors practicing birdwatching skills. If you have them please bring binoculars and a field guide. This free program is suitable for kids ages 8+ and the entire family. Once in the park, plan to meet at the Beach Center Classroom. A vehicle entry fee may be required to enter the park.


For more information, visit parks.ewashtenaw.org, call 971- 6337 or email Faye.







photo credit: Daniele Zanni via photopin cc

A.L.I.C.E. Initiative for Parents

Even though this is not a program for children I felt it was an important one to share with area parents. Tomorrow night, March 27 at 6:00 p.m.at the Ypsilanti District Library (5577 Whittaker Rd., Ypsilanti 48197), Ann Arbor area parents and teachers can learn about the A.L.I.C.E. Initiative. The program provides active shooter training and awareness in the event of a school shooting.

It would be nice to think that "this will never happen" in fact it likely never will, but the scouter in me thinks it is important to "be prepared" too. Parents are encouraged to attend one of the free sessions.

The decision to provide active shooter training to all school personnel was precipitated by the Sandy Hook tragedy of 2012, other acts of school violence and school shootings across the nation. Local law enforcement professionals worked with WISD and Ann Arbor area school districts to select and implement a response method. The group adopted the Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate or "A.L.I.C.E. program". Adopting this will provide tactical advantages to teachers and students to use in the event an intruder enters a school. To learn more, please attend the program tomorrow night at the Ypsilanti District Library.

For more information on the A.L.I.C.E. Initiative, contact Dr. Sarena Shivers at sshivers (at) wash.k12.mi.us.

LEGO® KidsFest in Michigan

Have you ever taken your kids to experience the LEGO® KidsFest? I hear that ticket sales are rocking and it is quite the place to be. The LEGO® KidsFest comes to Michigan April 25–27 at Novi's Suburban Collection Showplace.

The event is filled with interactive, creative and educational LEGO activities for the whole family. Stop in for hands-on educational fun for all ages with LEGO & DUPLO® Construction Zones, dozens of large-scale and miniature LEGO models and displays, LEGO Games, group builds, LEGO Master Builders, and much more!

Buy tickets today for the Michigan LEGO KidsFest. Kids 2 and under are free, Ages 2-17 and seniors $20, adult $22.

Hike at the Eddy Discovery Center This Saturday

Explore the Eddy Discovery Center (17030 Bush Rd., Chelsea, MI 48118) trails during the Harbinger Hike on Saturday March 29, 2:00-3:30 p.m. It would be an excellent way for the kids to find early signs of spring. Who knows you may even see  animal awakenings, early sprouts, and perhaps a few unorthodox blooms during this free event!

Weekend Event Round-Up: March 21-23

It has been a while since I have posted a weekend planner. This just seemed like a good weekend to share, and honestly I had a bit of time to collect the information. My daughter is excited to be off with my cousin for a weekend away - They will be crafting, seeing the new Muppet movie and sewing a dress for her to wear for book character day at school. I on the other hand want to see Divergent, will likely take my son to see the Muppet movie and will be shuttling him around to various Science Olympiad practices. I'll then end my weekend with my Brownie Troop skating at the Spectacular Scout Skate at Skatin Station. No rest for the weary here!

What are your weekend plans for this first weekend of spring? Doing anything special with the kids in Ann Arbor? If not I hope this weekend events round-up can provide some great ideas for fun!

Saturday

9:00  a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Predators and Prey at the UM Museum of Natural History

9:00 a.m. & 10:00 a.m. Free movies: Madagascar

10:00 a.m. Celebrate the 10th birthday of the AADL Malletts Creek Branch with a Happy Birthday Craft Celebration For Youth (ages 3+).  Make a three tiered paper cake with gems, tissue paper, stickers and ten candles and have a little treat.

10:00 a.m. Get crafty when visiting Michael's (3655 Washtenaw Ave., Ann Arbor). For just $2 kids get to decorate a picture frame with felt stickers. This program runs every half hour until noon.

11:00 a.m. Get hands-on with a great snake demo at the UM Museum of Natural History (1109 Geddes Avenue Ann Arbor, MI 48109). Explore the world of snakes: How they move, how they hear and smell and what they eat. Kids will even get up close and personal with snake skin, hear like a snake, and use museum specimens to learn more. This is a free event however donations are always appreciated! Families can also attend at 3:30 p.m.

11:00 a.m. Celebrate the beginning of Spring by planting an herb garden and enjoying an ice cream float at the Ypsilanti Library (Michigan) Spring Fling free event.

11:30 a.m. Check out the stars when exploring the planetarium at the UM Natural History Museum during the "The Sky Tonight: Star Talk".  Learn about stars, constellations, planets, and telescopic objects in the current night sky. Cost is $5/person. Other planetarium shows are hourly on the half hour throughout the day.

12:00 p.m. Rainbow Loom Meet Up at Michael's crafts. Cost if $5. Register at Michael's online.

2:00 p.m. Free dinosaur tours.

2:00-4:00 p.m. Get your lab rats excited with gravity experiments during the Ypsilanti District Library (Whittaker) Library Lab Kids. This program allows kids in grades 1-6 to dive into scientific discoveries with fun, hands-on experiments. Be sure to wear old clothes for this messy lesson about gravity. Parents do need to stay to help too. Registration is required for this program by calling 482-4110 x1340 or logging onto your library account. 

3:00 p.m. Free Event. Raptor Feeding at the Leslie Science and Nature Center (1831 Traver Road Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105).

4:00 p.m. Bring your budding artist to the Drop in and Draw Kids teen event. Kids will work on drawing skills. All skill levels are welcome, all supplies are included free too.

4:00 p.m. Experience spring by creating a spring terrarium at the Eddy Discovery Center (17030 Bush Rd., Chelsea, MI 48118). Families should bring a glass container with a lid (quart to gallon size) and be ready to dig in to create a small ecosystem beautiful enough for display. This is a free event.

Sunday

9:00 a.m. & 10:00 a.m. Free movies: Madagascar

12:00 p.m. The Critter House is open at the Leslie Science & Nature Center.

2:00-3:30 p.m. The sky's the limit when your kids create their own telescope!  This Eddy Discovery Center program allows your kids to be their own little Galileo as they make their own working telescope with astronomy buff Meg Gower. The cost for this program is free to members of the Waterloo Natural History Association or $2/person or $5/family Supplies for the telescope are $8/telescope. This event is limited to creating 20 telescopes so advance registration required at by calling 734-475-3170.

2:00 p.m. Free dinosaur tours.

3:30 p.m. Hands-on snake demo at the UM Museum of Natural History.

4:00 p.m. Your budding musician will enjoy the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra Family Concert "The Planets" (at the Michigan Theater) featuring music from Star Wars as well as many famous planetary musical compositions. Starting at 2:30 p.m. kids can enjoy pre-concert activities including an instrument petting zoo. There will also be a real Apollo Space suit for viewing and after the show, Astronaut Tony England will be signing autographs.Sounds like a plan that is out of this world!

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