Creatures & Critters: Turtle Edition

turtle crawling on white background

Meet Ada, Darling, and Teddy! Ada and Darling are red-eared sliders and Teddy is a ornate box turtle. The Nature Center is home to these three turtles. Red-eared sliders are brightly marked and their carapace looks like a bowl turned upside down. The shell of a red-eared slider is divided into “scutes.” They look like Read More »

Read More

How deep do they go?

butterfly milkweed root drawing

Did you know that butterfly milkweed’s roots grow up to 12 feet deep, about the height of an African elephant? We look at prairie plants and can hardly imagine the amazing root systems that are growing beneath our feet. Those roots help to draw water down into the watershed, which cleans it before it enters Read More »

Read More

Walks rock when you’re looking for rocks

rock collection

This week, Teddy the turtle heads to the Dickinson County Nature Center lower level to check out the geology exhibit. From Colorado to Texas, New York to Arkansas, volunteer Jerry Wiekamp traveled the United States, visiting mines and collecting geological specimens that are now on display at the Dickinson County Nature Center. The gold ore Read More »

Read More

Crawl through a fox burrow

turtle by a fox burrow hole

Interestingly, red foxes don’t often use burrows or dens to stay warm in the winter. They can stay warm during the cold months simply by curling their fluffy tails around them. However, this is the time of year they might be thinking about finding a den. Red foxes mate during the late winter, and by Read More »

Read More

A twist on the classic snowflake craft

fake snowflake on window

Ugh. That’s what many of us think when we look outside at this time of year. It’s long enough into winter that we’re all tired of the cold, but not far enough into winter that we have hope of spring around the corner. This is the time of year we have to be intentional about Read More »

Read More