Family Nature Night at Roxborough is a Tradition!
Family Nature Night at Roxborough has become a tradition at one of SOLE’s original pilot schools. This is the first year it was held in the winter, though! The Welcome Table was set up at the main doors where Sheryl greeted everyone with raffle tickets and information. Partners were variously spaced throughout the atrium, Backyard Bass and archery were set in the gym, and pizza was waiting in the cafeteria. Sometimes it’s tough to know where to start with so many choices!
Lookout Mountain Nature Center had some very fun activities about tracking to try. Matching animal pictures to rubber tracks was popular with many. Plaster track molds were also a hit because there was a souvenir to take home at the end! Another take home treat was located at the Denver Botanic Gardens table. Anyone who wanted to plant a pot could take home his or her very own native grasses as well!
South Platte Park brought a scaly visitor with them for families to meet. Did you see the young bull snake? History Colorado had some rousing games of history bingo going on, and after many posed with state symbols for a photo opportunity!
Did you stop by to identify birds with Bird Conservancy of the Rockies? Many were fascinated by the skulls and eggs of various bird species. What did you think of the stuffed owl and comparing different feathers? Audubon Society of Greater Denver had a different kind of birding activity to explore across the way focusing in on how bird beaks are adapted for feeding on favored foods.
The raffle at 6 pm was highly anticipated. Students gripped their tickets hoping to hear the winning number. Mystery bags and camping gear went quickly, and lucky families also received History Colorado Family Passes. The grand prize State Parks Gift Certificate was received by happy family excited to visit the parks in this beautiful state!
The trivia wheel and Generation Wild activities were up near the welcome table, but people kept wandering back and forth through all the activities, so there was a steady stream of visitors at these stations. How many things could you check off the list of 100 things to do before you’re 12? Tracking animals using their unique paws as clues was a good way to start! Sometimes people even brought knowledge they had just earned from the trivia wheel to help them identify certain tracks!
Backyard Bass, located in the gym, gathered quite a following of students, some of whom could not even pull themselves away at the end of the night! They even helped gather the plastic fish to close the evening down. How many plastic fish did you catch? Archery was also extremely popular with kids willing to wait in the ever-present line for a shot (or two, or three!) at hitting a bullseye.
It was a full evening of fun activities to explore. It was a wonderful night full of fun for all the families. The SOLE program would like to thank all of our partners, volunteers, Roxborough staff, and everyone who attended that made the night a success!
