Edison Celebrates Family Nature Night in the Outdoors!

It was a perfect night for Edison students and families to celebrate Family Nature Night almost completely outdoors. The weather cooperated beautifully! People walked in from every direction, finding something interesting to do as soon as they arrived. Our partners were all set up and ready with activities as people trickled in to start the night.

The National Park Service brought a variety of furs to touch that fascinated both young and old as they learned about the Every Kid in a Park program. History Colorado challenged visitors to rousing games of history bingo and had a photo shoot with state symbols set up, too!

One activity that was constantly full was coloring your own iron-on patch to free t-shirts provided by Barr Lake State Park. Families crowded in to put their own special touches on the fun water safety design, and kids proudly wore their creations the rest of the night.

Showing off the finished t-shirts!

Free food was available and is always a good way to fuel up for an evening of entertainment. It also gave families a great chance to hang out and chat in the common area, surveying all the waiting activities from which to choose. With such a beautiful night to work with, everyone was happy to be in the common area.

Halfway through the night, the activities shut down for a short time (except for those who couldn’t be pulled away from fishing!) to give everyone a chance to win some great outdoor prizes and a family grand prize Parks Pass to boot! Everyone was hoping to hear his or her number called, but even those who didn’t win cheered on those who did. It was a fun moment to feel like a close-knit community.

Bird identification with Bird Conservancy of the Rockies was also a fun stop, challenging everyone to use binoculars to figure out what birds were displayed at a distance. Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge coaxed several children to try on black-footed ferret and butterfly costumes after answering tricky trivia questions.

Wildlife trivia had a crowd of kids vying for small prizes for correct guesses for most of the evening. The spinning wheel was a draw from start to finish. The brand new Generation Wild table, a Get Outdoors Colorado creation, received attention over the course of the evening as well. Students compared what they could check off on the list of 100 things to do before turning 12 and took home their own lists to complete if they found gaps.

Archery in the gym was the lone indoor activity, but remained busy from start to finish. Students were excited to proclaim their eye dominance and learn the proper stance to shoot at the target. Taking aim was a challenge many were ready to accept.

Once Backyard Bass was discovered, it was full of children casting and volunteers attempting to keep poles in use with all the enthusiastic participants clamoring for more fishing! Even as the light failed, kids continued to try their luck at casting into the darkness, hoping they could catch one of those fish they knew were out there!