NOS Mission

Nevada Outdoor School inspires exploration of the natural world, responsible stewardship of our habitat and dedication to community.
This is the spot for us to share stories, fun ideas or general musings. When you aren't in here, we hope to see you out there!







Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Everyone Loves a Fair!

"Rat Island" Habitats Booth at the Ecology Fair
Nevada Outdoor School hosted an “Ecology Fair” for fourth grade students in Winnemucca last week.  This event took place at the Winnemucca Community Garden over the course of two days and was a great success!

Ecology Fair represented a new idea for Nevada Outdoor School in which we wanted to put an exciting spin on the traditional field trip model.  The goal was to provide students with an opportunity to investigate, discover, and learn about ecology through hands-on, interactive and self-guided exploration.  The event ran for two hours.  Students participated in a 30 minute scavenger hunt, 30 minute Project Learning Tree Activity and explored the fair for 1 hour.  Before going to the fair, students were each issued a passport book which they took around with them and received stickers from presenters for successfully participating at their booth.  Students were encouraged to go to as many booths and get as many stickers as possible, learn as much as they could and have fun. 

Staff from various partner agencies such as the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection (NDEP), as well as community volunteers came together to run hands-on, interactive booths covering a wide variety of ecological topics including fire, water quality, wildlife, soil, vermicomposting and noxious weeds.  During their hour at the fair, students wandered freely around the different booths and took control of their own learning. 
It was amazing to see students so excited to get to their next booth and learn something new.  Many wanted to stay longer and one student even asked if the fair would be there that weekend so she could come back. 

Everyone loves a fair!
-Jive

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