Snakes, fossils and the natural history of Logan Canyon at the Stokes Nature Center

By Ann Passey

June 27, 3005 | Skulls, snake skin and skat are everywhere. Fossils can be found at your fingertips. Worms are the preferred way to eliminate waste.

Hands-on experience is the key to success here.

The Stokes Nature Center, just a mile up Logan Canyon, is a wealth of educational experiences just waiting to be explored.

"The center is open year round and available to all ages of folks, from 2 years old to 80 plus," said Lisa Moore, director of operations.

"Individuals can stop by the center anytime -- they can set up a group event, or they can come to one of our events."

Although the SNC serves all demographics, the center focuses mainly on education for students in kindergarten through sixth grade.

They provide experiences both on site, and across the valley. There are also several programs that the SNC has developed to bring directly into classrooms.

"In our wildlife in winter outreach program kindergarteners can discover how animals survive the winter," said Moore. "We use activities, songs, puppets and science experiment to teach the kids. We also allow them hands on time with a variety of animal specimens and furs from the SNC collection.

"In the end, kindergarten students should be able to observe, describe and categorize animals according to unique characteristics, and describe seasonal changes and how they affect living things," said Moore.

Similar programs exist for all grades, and often the classroom is taken out on location for even more hands on experience.

"Today we had kids tromping out in the wetlands," said Moore. "They were discovering birds, snakes and frogs and the habitat they live in, and what makes the habitat different from others."

The SNC serves students from across the valley, and over the course of a year they see over 3,500 students, said Director of Education, Megan Barker.

The SNC also has programs at the center that are available to the general public. Two programs in particular are very popular at the center, and run year round.

Tales and Trails is for children ages 4 to 8. First a story is read to the children, like Rabbits Good News, and then the group goes on an adventure of their own, or creates a project that correlates with the book.

Art for Naturalists is an art program for adults older than 16 years old. The course is taught by De Ann Lester and is intended for students who are interested in using art tools and methods to deepen their understanding and connection to the natural world. The class doesn't require any previous art experience.

Lester guides students along in identifying plants and animals, and afterward the class works on drawing, painting, sketching or watercolor.

For visitors who just want to stop by the center, there are a multitude of things to explore on your own.

The focus is on hands on, experiential learning. As visitors walk through the center, almost everything they see, they will also be able to experience. For instance, there are thousands of scorpions in Logan Canyon that glow in the dark. At the center you can shine a black light into their cage to find them and see just what they look like.

Other critters can also be explored. There are five live snakes found at the center that are also common in the canyon. Visitors can learn to recognize them, and learn what to do or what not to do if they encounter them in the wild. The SNC has several other critters, including a tarantula and a frog.

In one display there are over 15 skulls. Some are as small as your little finger and some as large as a basketball, and all can be handled and explored by eager hands.

As you move around the lodge there is also weather station, where students can learn to predict the weather and create their own weather forecast using a variety of weather instruments including an ancient weather glass and a Galileo thermometer and a more up to date method, the computer.

Visitors can create fossil rubbings, and hunt for fossils of their own or sort through the worm bin, full of worms eating food and paper scraps from the center. The result is a dark brown moist looking soil.

"We don't put any dirt into the bin," said Moore. "We just put all of our organic waste into the bin, and the result is a great fertilizer.

"We also teach a class so that people can create bins at home," said Moore. "They are really easy, and are great for gardens."

The SNC was constructed in 1924 by members of the American Legion and later donated to the Trapper Trails Council of the Boy Scouts. In 1996 Logan's First Presbyterian Church in partnership with the Bridgerland Audubon Society designated a board to establish a not-for-profit nature center. A crew of volunteers worked for over a year renovating the building to provide a safe and welcoming place for learning. On November 1, 1997 the Stokes Nature Center was dedicated and in July of 2001, after almost four successful years of programming, the title to the building was turned over to the Stokes Nature Center.

Today the SNC continues to operate on almost a completely volunteer basis. There are three full time staff. Beyond that there are two VISTA volunteers, who receive a small stipend, and the rest is done completely through community volunteers.

"We always need more volunteers," said Moore. "The SNC really exists because of the volunteer support that we have." People interested in volunteering or visiting the center can call 755-3239.

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