Local Initiatives


There are 2 OK Kids events going on in Wichita on Saturday, May 19.  Join in the fun at one or both locations!  See this link for all the details.

#1.  OK Kids at the Great Plain Nature Center will be an outdoor adventure for all.  Saturday, May 19, 10a-2p!

Your Adventure at GPNC will include:

  • Live animals up close and personal
  • Building a fort
  • Fishing (sign up the day of event)
  • Target shooting
  • Building a bird house or bird feeder
  • Bird watching (win a pair of binoculars!)
  • Orienteering
  • Planting a tree (take home and plant)
  • Make a recycled toy

#2 OK Kids at the OJ Watson Park,  Saturday, May 19, 9a-noon.

Your Adventure at OJ Watson Park will include:

  • Fishing & water safety
  • Volleyball
  • Moon walk
  • Kayaks
  • Train rides, pony rides, mini-golf, pedal boats & concessions for a small fee.

It’s time for Storytime at the WATER Center Tuesday May 8 from 10am-11am. 

Join the WATER Center Staff for a free storytime and nature activity.  May’s story is Trout, Trout, Trout by April Pulley Sayre.  The Activity is “Get Fishy!”  The program is designed for Pre-K aged children, but all are welcome to attend.

The WATER Center is located in Herman Hill Park on the corner of Pawnee and Broadway. Due to contruction at Pawnee & Broadway, please access Herman Hill park via McClean and Pawnee. 

You can park in the lot by the playground or behind the WATER Center building.  The building has fountains out front.  Wander up the path towards the fountains and enter the building for storytime.  After storytime you can play in the museum or hike along the streamside paths towards the Arkansas River.

Need a weekend gettaway?  Try the Wetland Education Center in Great Bend, KS on Sunday.

The WEC is having a fantastic, family-friendly, free Earth Day event on Sunday, April 22 from 1:30 -5.  The first 100 people through the door get a free reusable bag.

 

Schedule of Events

1:30 & 3:30  “Bag-It” – world renowned documentaryt on our use of plastic

1:30-3:00     Crafts & live rainforest animal presentations by Great Bend Zoo

1:45                 Plastic-Free Cooking Class with free food samples

3:00                Release of rehabilitated Bald Eagle!

Ongoing Events from 1:30-5pm

  • Midwest Energy’s Electro-Cycle Carnival Game
  • Solar bake over baking, cookie samples
  • Test drives of alternative energy vehicles (Chevy Volt, Ford Escape Hybrid, eAssist Buick LaCrosse)
  • Family fun environmental games
  • Alternative energy demos – solar panels, etc
  • Barton County Schools Art Exhibit

Also, while you’re there bust out the binoculars and take the drive through Cheyenne Bottoms and see the thousands of birds that are migrating through Kansas right now.  This is a great way to have kids practice with binoculars.  It will be SO easy to spot birds here.  45% of the North American shorebird populations migrate through Cheyenne Bottoms on their way north in the spring.

Click here for information on bird watching at Cheyenne Bottoms and download the checklist and see how many you can spot on your trip!

Boeing Wichita Presents: Earth Day Kansas

Thursday, April 19, 2012: 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Celebrate Earth Day Kansas!  This free environmental fair gives everyone the opportunity to learn how to protect and care for the world we live in. With hands-on activities and interactive exhibits, there are many learning opportunities for children. Activities are geared towards third through fifth grade.

Zoo entrance is free on Thursday, April 19 in honor of Earth Day!

Celebrate Nature and Animals at the Sedgwick County Zoo.

It’s time for Storytime at the WATER Center Tuesday April 10 from 10am-11am. 

Join the WATER Center Staff for a free storytime and nature activity.  April’s story is All the Water in the World by Lyon & Tillotson.  The Activity is “Water Cycles!”  The program is designed for Pre-K aged children, but all are welcome to attend.

The WATER Center is located in Herman Hill Park on the corner of Pawnee and Broadway. Due to contruction at Pawnee & Broadway, please access Herman Hill park via McClean and Pawnee. 

You can park in the lot by the playground or behind the WATER Center building.  The building has fountains out front.  Wander up the path towards the fountains and enter the building for storytime.  After storytime you can play in the museum or hike along the streamside paths towards the Arkansas River.

  1. All those wonderful g2g Outside events for Spring & Summer 2012!  Click HERE for a list of times and places for our g2g events this year.
  2. April 30 – Youth Volunteer Day at the WATER  Center.  Ages 8-15.  Register here.
  3. June 1-9 – Wichita River Festival, lots of community activities down by the Arkansas River.
  4. June 23Great American Backyard Campout - more idea, links, etc coming on this blog and on the NWF website.

What else should be on our radar for the summer?

Show your kiddo how much you love them by taking them out for Storytime at the WATER Center Tuesday February 14 from 10am-11am. 

Join the WATER Center Staff for a free storytime and nature activity.  February the story is Big Al by Yoshi and the activity is “Fish Friends!”  The program is designed for Pre-K aged children, but all are welcome to attend.

The WATER Center is located in Herman Hill Park on the corner of Pawnee and Broadway. Due to contruction at Pawnee & Broadway, please access Herman Hill park via McClean and Pawnee. 

You can park in the lot by the playground or behind the WATER Center building.  The building has fountains out front.  Wander up the path towards the fountains and enter the building for storytime.  After storytime you can play in the museum or hike along the streamside paths towards the Arkansas River.

Parents, have you been carting your kids around to THEIR activities?  Are you ready for a night where the evening is designed just for you?  Well here you go!

g2g Outside is hosting a Parent’s Night Out on February 6th, 6:30-8:30pm.   We will provide an evening with refreshments, a bit of education, some lively discussion, and a few fun activities or ideas that you can take home and use.

The purpose of the evening is to give parents the time and space to talk about how outdoor play shapes children and benefits them.  We will trade ideas and activities that we use to engage kids in nature.

The event is free.  But, we ask that you please register here

Fish Tales storytime at the WATER Center! 

Tuesday January 10 from 10am-11am.  Join the WATER Center Staff for a free storytime and nature activity.  The program is designed for Pre-K aged children, but all are welcome to attend.

The WATER Center is located in Herman Hill Park on the corner of Pawnee and Broadway.  You can park in the lot by the playground or behind the WATER Center building.  The building has fountains out front.  Wander up the path towards the fountains and enter the building for storytime.  After storytime you can play in the museum or hike along the streamside paths towards the Arkansas River.

g2g Outside is taking a break from Play in the Park activities this month because 1)  it’s too dark after parents get off work, 2) it’s such a busy time of year.

However, there is one great family event sponsored by Sedgwick Co Extension that you and your family can attend on December 9 from 7-9.  It’s Family Board Game Night.  Yes, yes, this is supposed to be and outside play program, but once it’s warmer you can always take your family game night outside.  :)

Come play board games before you buy them.  Take this opportunity to scope out new board games for your kids as potential holiday or birthday gifts. 

We live in a busy world in which time together is often lost in the buzz of activity. Setting aside a time to play board games (a Family Night) can bring fathers, mothers, grandparents, friends and other loving adults together with children. When played in the right spirit, games provide a shared experience in which the minds of those playing engage each other in challenging ways. Having fun together is the priority goal in playing board games.

Are you tired of the same old games?  Need some inspiration for a family board game night?  Come to the Community Family Board Game Night at the Sedgwick County Extension Office on Friday, December 9 from 7-9pm.  This event is a free, come & go event where you can try out all sorts of games for ages 5 to 95.  Check out the details Community Family Board Game Night Event- December 9, 2011 English, Spanish

 

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