The Winnebago County Conservation Board (WCCB) and the North Iowa Area Community
College (NIACC) will be holding a series of Critter Camps for kids at Thorpe Park this summer. The camps will be held on June 26th, 27th, and 28th, from 9:00-11:00 AM, and will be open to all students going into grades 1 through 5. Thorpe Park is located 5 miles west of Forest City on “I”/345th Street.
According to Winnebago County Naturalist Lisa Ralls, the first camp, on Monday the 26th, will be “Animal Tracks and Signs.”
All the participants will then have a chance to look for animal signs at the park and make a plaster animal track cast to take home.
The next day’s camp, on Tuesday the 27th, will be “Discovering Insects.”
The young participants that day will learn what makes insects different from other animals and they will have the opportunity to find and catch a variety of insects at the park.
The final Critter Camp, on Wednesday the 28th, will be “Bird Study” according to Ralls.
That morning, the kids will learn about what makes birds unique, which kinds of birds live in Iowa, and how to identify some of our more common birds. All the kids will then have a chance to go on a hike to see what birds they can discover at the park.
According to Ralls, parents can accompany their children during the camps.
The cost for the Critter Camps will be $19/family, with registration through NIACC. That one fee covers all three camps, but kids do not have to attend all three camps. To register, people can contact Ashley Kraus at [email protected]. If anyone would like non-registration information about the Critter Camps, they can contact WCCB Naturalist Lisa Ralls at 641-565-3390 or at [email protected].
