Our future is as bright as a robin’s egg
April 7th, 2011I met a boy named Peter yesterday at the UO Museum of Natural and Cultural History’s terrific program called “Little Wonders: Stories & Activities.” At 4¾ (I know that’s how old he is because he told me) Peter already knows a lot about the world around him: birds eat worms and so do people in some countries; robin’s eggs are bright blue; when hatchlings are learning to fly they make mistakes and that’s okay.
Thanks to the Little Wonders program, which is coordinated by the museum’s assistant director of education, Ann Craig, many other preschoolers know a lot about the world too. On the first Wednesday of each month from September to June children in our community can hear a story, explore museum exhibits, and express what they learned through art.
It was great fun joining the April program that welcomed spring by listening to the book A Nest Full of Eggs by Priscilla Belz Jenkins. After the reading, we looked for birds throughout the museum in the various exhibits with guidance from museum volunteers Lindsay Short and Katie Kelley. After that we made posters depicting what robins need to make their nests, while discussing all the birds we saw (the hawk was the consensus favorite).
Whether you’re 4¾ or 61¼, it’s always fun learning something new at the Museum of Natural and Cultural History. Go see how many birds you can identify—and I know there will be someone there willing to help you.
