11/08/2007

Northern Michigan Students Experience Nature Hands-On

Mackinaw City, Mich. — During November, February and March, elementary students throughout northern Michigan will use their senses to gain an even greater appreciation and understanding of Michigan’s many natural resources.  Students will touch and smell a river otter pelt, hear the call of a loon, and study a taxidermy mount of a beaver.

Presented by Jeff Dykehouse, curator of natural history at Mackinac State Historic Parks, “Water, Woods and Wildlife” is an interactive, high-energy program that teaches children about the many natural resources surrounding them and the positive or negative impact they can have on Michigan’s natural environment.

“I try to get kids excited about this,” said Dykehouse.  “To many of them, natural history is not as exciting as playing video games.  If I can just get them more excited, I think they’ll want to learn more about natural history, and the more they learn about it the more they’ll want to protect and preserve it.  That’s my ultimate goal.”

With two large boxes full of props, including animal taxidermy mounts, animal skulls, birdcalls and posters, Dykehouse will explain the difference between carnivores, herbivores and omnivores and the role of decomposers, producers and consumers in the food chain and the food cycle.

During the hour-long program, four volunteers will hang a photo of the sun, a plant, a deer and a coyote around their neck to become a food chain.  Students will hear the difference between the “swoosh” of a goose feather and the silence of an owl’s.  And many questions will be answered.  What impact did the pesticide DDT have on bald eagles in Michigan?  Why does the great-horned owl eat skunks?  How can litter potentially lead to the death of an owl?

Students will also learn about the Great Lakes’ watershed and the many ways that it interconnects with the animals of Michigan.  They’ll compare the size and depth of the Great Lakes, view a satellite photograph of the region, and experience the sights and feel of taxidermy mounts, pelts and skulls of the many animals that depend on the watershed for life.

“Many students don’t realize how lucky we are to live in the middle of the Great Lakes and how valuable fresh water is,” Dykehouse said.  “In the future, we will all come to the conclusion that our most valuable natural resource is fresh water.”

Every November, February and March since 1993, Dykehouse has traveled to schools in the Mackinac Straits area to present the hands-on “Water, Woods and Wildlife” program.  It is one of two education outreach programs offered by Mackinac State Historic Parks (MSHP) this year.  The second program, “Historic Mackinac on Tour”, focuses on early Michigan fur-trade history in the Straits of Mackinac and features presenters dressed as French voyageurs and British Redcoats.  Nearly 160,000 students from across Michigan have participated in MSHP’s education outreach programs since its inception in 1988.  The programs are partially funded by Mackinac Associates, a non-profit membership group that supports MSHP’s programs.

Mackinac State Historic Parks is a family of living history museums and parks in northern Michigan’s Straits of Mackinac and is an agency within the Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries. Its sites—which are accredited by the American Association of Museums—include Fort Mackinac, Mackinac Island State Park, and Historic Downtown on Mackinac Island, and Colonial Michilimackinac, Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse and Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park in Mackinaw City.  Mackinac State Historic Parks is governed by the Mackinac Island State Park Commission, established in 1895 to protect, preserve and present the parks’ rich historic and natural resources for the education and recreation of future generations.  Visitor information is available at 231-436-4100 or on the web at www.MackinacParks.com.