Scales, Scales, Scales
Day 1
Although all the campers we
anxious to jump right into fish, we started our scaly explorations with animals
in the order Lepidoptera. What’s that
you ask? Butterflies and moths of course! We started the day reading a few
short stories to learn what it means to be a butterfly or moth. We then
ventured outside on a butterfly and moth scavenger hunt, using a “bingo board”
to locate different butterflies and moths, look for different behaviors, and
identify some plants they use for their survival. We were lucky to find a
milkweed tussock moth caterpillar and a monarch caterpillar hanging out on
their favorite, the milkweed. We brought the monarch caterpillar back to the
Visitor Center for observation over the next few days. Our little friend molted
during the first night! We spent the rest of the day learning about the
differences between butterflies and moths and also characteristics they share.
Snack was themed of course, using a banana, pretzels, raisins and chow mein
noodles to create an extremely yummy butterfly. We tried to play a silly
caterpillar game outside after snack, but late afternoon giggles took over!
Although not a scaly critter, we did get the awesome experience of seeing an
adult cicada just emerging from its nymph form. When we came back to check on
it a short while later the process was already complete but the cicada was
still hanging out waiting for its wings to dry a bit before taking off. We also
found lots of exoskeletons left behind on trees from adult cicadas emerging.
Day 2
Wednesday brought the fish! We
started the day with the help of two seasoned fisherman, Paul and Bill,
assisting us in a fishing excursion. We made good use of the fairly new DOT
fishing pier at the western end of Lake Kirsty. Many campers caught their first
ever fish! It was an at times frustrating, but very exciting morning. We spent
some time learning about different characteristics to identify each species
caught, and learn some of the silly names for parts of a fish. I wonder how the
scientist that named the skinny part between a fish’s body and tail (caudal)
fin decided upon the name caudal peduncle! After lunch, we started our fish
craft out of recycled pop bottles. They looked great all hung up together on
our room divider! We also learned about Gyotaku, or the Japanese art of fish
prints, and made fish prints using rubber fish.
For snack everyone got to go fishing again! This time using a pretzel
stick for a rod and cream cheese for the bait to catch goldfish crackers. Some
campers turned these ingredients into crazy sculptures instead. At Tifft, we
think it’s ok to play with your food though (at least sometimes!) We also got
to run around and play some games outside including a fish tag game where the
fish (most of the campers) tried not to get eaten by a bigger fish (a small
group of campers) by hiding in safe spots.
Day 3
Already our time together was
coming to an end, but not before we talked about our last group of scaly
creatures, REPTILES! This was a day that was long awaited by many of the
campers. We went for a long walk hoping to encounter some of the reptiles that
call Tifft home. We weren’t too successful with reptiles but saw LOTS of frogs
and other animals. Unfortunately that is the one tricky thing about nature
camp, we can’t always plan for what we are going to see, but it makes it really
exciting when we see something we weren’t expecting. Some campers did get to
see a Northern Water Snake from a distance in the marsh and a Painted Turtle
basking on a log before it got scared into the water. After lunch, we had a
special guest, Mary, who brought many of her reptile (and a few amphibian)
friends with her to share. We got to hold a Ball Python and a Fat-tailed Gecko!
Our final activity for camp was having turtle races! No, not those kinds of
turtle races J
We colored turtles and raced them across long “tracks” of yarn. This was the
one time we got a little TOO loud, but we just couldn’t control our excitement.
Well there we have it, another
successful summer of camp at Tifft. All the Tifft staff had a great summer
getting to know all the new campers and welcoming back lots of familiar faces.
We hope to see you all back sometime soon :)
Here is a photo album so you can see some of our adventures: Scales, Scales, Scales Photos
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