Wednesday, August 12, 2009

TIMP CAVE - WILDLIFE ADVENTURES



This week for Wildlife Adventures we climbed up to Timpanogos Cave. Not only was it a great workout for our calves but we learned a lot about the Cave too! Timpanogos Cave is actually made up of chambers and they are Hansen Cave, Middle Cave, and Timpanogos Cave. Our guide showed us all the different mineral flows that are found inside the cave. There were some that looked like Popcorn, Straws, Bacon and even a Camel! At the end of the tour we stopped at a spot and we were told the Legend of Timpanogos Cave. The Legend says that a long time ago a girl was sacrificed and she formed the Mountain and that you can see her heart in the Cave! Of course this is all a legend that was written for the Timpanogos Story Telling Festival and none of it is true.

Sterling, Museum Educator

Monday, August 3, 2009

Saturday Safari Report -August 1, 2009




Elephants, Blue Whales, Ostriches, and yes...even Dinosaurs! What do they all have in common? THEY ARE BIG! This week Lauren guided us through the world of big and tall animals. Did you know that an full grown elephant weighs as much as a blue whale's tongue? That was one of the many facts we learned at this week's Saturday Safari. We had the opportunity to learn a lot about our favorite big and tall animals. We took a tour around the museum to check out the real large animals found in today's world. We saw giraffes...we saw rhinos...we saw hippos...we even saw a HUGE ELEPHANT! We also had the opportunity to watch the Magic School Bus show titled 'Busasaurus'. It is always a treat to have Ms. Frizzle guiding us through the majestic prehistoric world. All in all, we all came away from Saturday Safari with a tremendous knowledge of our big and tall friends in the animal world and better yet...we all had a BLAST! Thank you Lauren and thank you Bean Museum!

Michael, museum educator

Saturday Safari Report - July 25, 2009




On Saturday, July 25th, learning swooped down and caught our Saturday Safari goers by surprise. Michael taught us all about birds of prey, beginning with the riddle: “What flies and eats meat?” While the kids contemplated the answer, they were allowed to pet owls, hawks, and even the wing of a golden eagle.

Even with technical difficulties, Michael was able to tell us all about these soaring predators including his own encounter with a bald eagle (the eagle was as tall as his chest! Standing!). We learned how owl’s fly so silently, and why they can turn their heads all the way around (did you know Owl’s eyes are so big they can’t move them around in their eye-sockets?).

Finishing off with a game of bird-related hangman, and our very own contest to determine which bird had the ugliest face, (The winner? The king vulture! Isn’t he horrid?) This Saturday Safari satisfied even the most curious adventurer.

Lauren, museum educator