Since opening up our new Nature Lab, we have seen an explosion of visitors to our natural spaces on campus. From July-December 2022, Christy Woods, our Nature Lab, and the Greenhouses had over 30,000 visitors combined!! That includes BSU students, PreK-12th grade students, and community members. Approximately half of that number are casual visitors who utilize our free natural spaces outside of scheduled classes and field trips. This One Ball State Day, we would like to ask for your support to create better resources for our casual visitors.
To do this, we will create themed backpacks of educational materials suitable for all ages, that can be checked out by visitors and used to enhance our visitors' experiences in our spaces, and then returned at the end of their trip. For example, a bird-themed backpack will contain a set of binoculars, a field guide, and simple educational activities related to birdwatching. Activities will be geared towards all ages of visitors, from PreK through adulthood, and will include topics for outdoor exploration as well as exploration of our Greenhouses. With your support, we can continue to improve our visitor experiences for all of our amazing community members, and further our environmental education mission.
