320 Students Have a "Sensation"-al Day
May 6, 2011
The Spring Conservation Sensation, an outdoor festival for elementary grades, hosted 320 students from area schools on May 4 at Czechland Lake near Prague.
4th, 5th and 6th grade students from seven local schools attended the event, which featured hands-on activities designed to teach them about the importance of conserving natural resources. The students rotated through eight 25-minute sessions that covered a variety of topics, from high-tech (GPS) to low (scat).
At "Lake Ecosystems," students examined and searched for fish, insects and other lake critters as they learned what makes up a healthy aquatic ecosystem.
"Secrets of Scat" taught students how animal scat can give clues about an animal's diet, and gave them the chance to gross each other out by constructing realistic-looking "scat" using Tootsie Rolls, Shredded Wheat, crushed mint candy, and other items.
For the "Geo-Hunt" activity, students learned about Global Positioning System technology and got to use handheld GPS units to find hidden items.
At other stations, students got a hands-on look at a variety of skins, antlers, and more (including a mountain lion pelt) while learning about wildlife management; planted trees and made tree ring "cookies;" practiced casting, knot-tying and other fishing skills; learned about migratory animals in a fast-paced running game; and had to remember to "phrase their answers in the form of a question" in Water Jeopardy!
Nearly 6,500 students have attended the Spring Conservation Sensation since it began in 1991. The event is open to schools from Butler, Saunders, Platte, Colfax, and Dodge counties.
Attending the 2011 event were classes from East Butler, Immanuel Lutheran (Columbus), Logan View Elementary, North Bend Elementary, Schuyler Middle School, St. Mary's (David City), and St. Wenceslaus (Wahoo).
The event was sponsored by the Lower Platte North Natural Resources District. Additional presenters came from David City High School, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, and the Lower Platte South NRD. High school students from David City served as group leaders. In-kind services were provided by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Youth Fishing Program.
More Information on the Spring Conservation Sensation