Summer readers wowed by nature and science
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By Jeff Snyder
MOUNT AYR, Iowa — Youth participating in the Mount Ayr Library’s Summer Reading program were treated to a pair of presentations in science and nature that wowed the participants last Wednesday.
The first presentation was from the Science Center of Iowa at the Ringgold Outdoor Alliance building in Mount Ayr. The title of the program was called “The Deep Freeze” which covered the amazing effects of dry ice and liquid nitrogen and the effects they have on their surroundings.
The children were fascinated to learn the importance of science and its impacts upon their everyday lives.
After the presentation the children broke for lunch and reconvened at the Mount Ayr Elementary school due to a power outage to listed to a presentation presented by Ranger Travis Scott, the director of Ringgold County Conservation. Scott brought along a number of animals for the children to examine and to touch (except for “Tank” the snapping turtle). Scott walked the kids through each animal and explained their habitats and what they ate. He explained that some of the animals have been with the Dragoon Trace Nature Center since they were small baby animals. Scott walked around the room showing each animal, allowing the children to touch the friendly ones.
The biggest attention grabber was Tank, the snapping turtle who Scott carefully paraded around the room to the absolute delight of the children in attendance. Tank stretched his long neck out trying to reach his handler, but the experienced ranger kept him safely out of reach. Scott went on to explain how snapping turtles can live to be 80 years old. He explained that there is way to tell how old a turtle is by counting the rings on the turtle’s shell to arrive at an approximate age. Scott conducts many show and tell programs at the Nature Center and also attends school functions throughout the year. These are very popular programs and fill up quickly. For more information, people can reach out to the Dragoon Trace Nature Center, or directly to Scott at the Ringgold County Conservation office.
