Sprinkler Time, Sensory Walk and More!

 Here are a few highlights from our first week of Session Two: This Land is Our Land. What a fine week it has been! These beautiful photographs are courtesy of our talented center coordinator, Jessica Schultz. Enjoy, and see you next week!

We love our junior counselors! 

Playtime in the garden is a part of just about every day here at Hitchcock Camp.

The hickory tree is a great spot to rest during tag games.

The bee balm is at its peak!

The Young Naturalists have been LOVING their sprinkler time this week!

We have been playing "Wolf and Sheep" a lot this week. It is a favorite tag game with a twist!

The Young Naturalists explored the garden using their senses of touch and smell. It was a challenge to not be able to use their sight!

Electric Fence was a fun group challenge we played this week. Everyone had to get over the "fence" without touching it. Kids worked together to make it a success for everyone!

This Land is Our Land

This week, Young Naturalists and Explorers have been discovering the special things about the Pioneer Valley that make it such a great place to live. On the first day, the Explorers took a walk on our trails here at the Hitchcock Center to investigate what kinds of habitats we have and what makes them different.

Popcorn Shack

Enchanter's Nightshade: A "hitch-hiking seed"

Frog Pond: A favorite place to stop and look for camouflaged frogs!

On Tuesday, the Young Naturalists had a special adventure next door at the farm: an archaeological dig! Campers each had their own quadrant in which to dig for historical artifacts of the valley. They found bones, farm tools, and bits of pottery. In the afternoon, they pieced together the evidence to figure who was there, and what happened, before them.

River Discovery

Last Friday all campers walked to Groff Park to explore the river. It was the perfect way to cool off on a hot day! Campers waded in the river and found some of the largest crayfish that campers have ever seen! Later in the afternoon, the Explorers baked mealworm cookies for their theme of entomophagy (the eating of insects). Almost all campers were brave enough to taste the cookies!

Insect Collecting at Mt. Pollux

Yesterday the Young Naturalists had a wonderful time collecting insects at Mt. Pollux Conservation Area in South Amherst. Kids found grasshoppers, beetles, flies, butterflies, moths, leaf hoppers, and probably most exciting of all, numerous walking sticks! This was really cool because we have Thailand walking sticks on exhibit at the Hitchcock Center, but many of us have not seen native Massachusetts walking sticks before. Awesome! After collecting, kids wrote in their nature journal about their discoveries. The afternoon group had the treat of seeing a bald eagle soaring through the sky!

A Walking Stick!

Creepy Crawlies are Friends!

Yesterday at camp the Young Naturalists created "Creepy Crawly Awareness" posters to go along with our theme of "Ew, That's Gross!" While some people might find animals like snakes, spiders, slugs and earthworms to be yucky, we know that many of them are actually very helpful to the environment. Here are some of the posters that children made yesterday.