Tag Archives: Environmental Education

Change the World, Dani's Dreams Memorial Walk/Run, Membership, Special Events, STEM Education, Teacher Resources

Get the Coolest T-shirt on the Planet and ‘Change the World’

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danisdreams2016tshirtdesignCongratulations to Paige Taylor, Zion Lutheran School whose design (left) won the 2016 Dani’s Dreams Outdoor Education Programs contest. Her design will appear on hundreds of T-shirts for the Aug. 6 Dani’s Dreams Memorial Walk/Run to support the new Dani’s Dreams Outdoor Education Trail at Sugar Creek Park!

danisdreamssecondplace2016tooKeeping it in the Taylor family, second place design goes to both Kate Taylor and Danielle Taylor, both Zion Lutheran students.

Register HERE to purchase your shirt and register for the walk/run!

danisdreams 2016second place drawing

 

 

Change the World, Donations and Fundraising, Earth Day Dedication Event, ECOFEST Earth Day Festival, ECOFEST Lessons, Go Green Discovery Center, Membership, Special Events, STEM Education, Sustainability, Teacher Resources

Good day, sunshine! ECOFEST 2016

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Dani’s Dreams Outdoor Education Programs and New Palestine High School teacher Brittany Bennett and her students hosted ECOFEST 2016 April 15, celebrating bringing innovative STEM education activities to Southern Hancock students. Students, parents and grandparents took the challenge and enjoyed bubbles, gliders and saw the liftoff of a solar balloon thanks to NPHS student volunteers at the Dani’s Dreams Outdoor Education Center at Zion Lutheran School.

Ana Ostendorf and Allison Norman gave students in attendance a sneak peak at the ECOFEST solar energy lesson. All those in attendance saw solar in action thanks to David Griffin and learned how this renewable energy works in a video produced by our Dani’s Dreams reporters Sarah and Emily Adam.
NPHS Alumnus Ryan Schroeder tested ECOFEST participants’ knowledge of invasive species with his “Friends or Foes” game. Schroeder is the president of the Purdue University Environmental Science Club. DNR Project Learning Tree Coordinator Donna Rogler shared her extensive knowledge and seedlings to take home. Willing Hands Entertainment provided free facepainting for all kids!

Because of the great response to ECOFEST Lessons and the festival, Dani’s Dreams is extending the deadline for the Southern Hancock T-shirt Wars to sign up for membership and help your favorite elementary school win a $300 grant! Sign up by May 6 online here to become a Dani’s Dreams Team member and get your favorite kid a free T-shirt, wristband, certificate and exciting and fun activities and information they can use all year to “Change the World!”

Change the World, ECOFEST Earth Day Festival, ECOFEST Lessons, Special Events, Special program, STEM Education, Teacher Resources

Join Dani’s Dreams Team and get a FREE ECOFEST T-shirt!

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DanisDream3Southern Hancock kids, parents and community members can Change the World by supporting Dani’s Dreams Outdoor Education Programs and sponsoring ECOFEST lessons in our elementary schools.
SIGN UP TODAY to become a Dani’s Dreams Team member and get a specially designed T-shirt for your elementary school. Members can pick up your T-shirt at the ECOFEST Earth Day Festival April 15 at Dani’s Dreams Outdoor Education Center at Zion Lutheran School, New Palestine.
The school with the most memberships by the ECOFEST Earth Day Festival April 15  will win a $300 grant for your school! Proceeds from the memberships go to support the Dani’s Dreams Outdoor Education Trail at Sugar Creek Township Park coming in 2016!

 

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Change the World, Dani's Dreams Memorial Walk/Run, Hibernation, Membership, Special Activities, STEM Education, Teacher Resources

‘Hibe and sleep’…

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Drawing by Sarah Adam, 7th grade, Doe Creek Middle School

By Christina Harkleroad, intern coordinator

Dani’s Dreams Outdoor Education Center
Now in the midst of winter, some animals are in a stage called hibernation. This is a state of inactivity where their body temperature decreases and their heartbeat and breathing slow down. Their bodies go through this to conserve energy that the animals spent all fall saving up. During fall time, the animals eat an increased amount of food to increase their overall body fat. This allows them to be insulated and they will use it throughout their hibernation period for energy.
Many animals hibernate. Some animals in our area that hibernate are skunks, chipmunks, some squirrels, and some bats. Also, bears hibernate but those are not in our area. They are mainly in mountain regions to our south and east. These animals hibernate to conserve energy in the winter months when food is hard to find. As animals prepare for hibernation, they eat enough food to last them through the upcoming winter months. Their bodies produce special fat tissues around their brain, heart, and lungs to provide extra insulation in those areas.
Animals who use lots of energy throughout the winter days, but do not hibernate, become dormant during parts of the day. This is similar to hibernating however instead of sleeping throughout winter, they sleep for a major part of the day in order to conserve energy. Hummingbirds and some small bats are examples of animals that are dormant for parts of winter.
During winter you see less squirrels, chipmunks, and skunks, now you know that they’re just in hibernation and once spring rolls around, they’ll be back to their playful ways. In my next column, I will be exploring what germination is as spring time grows closer and the flowers begin to bloom.

Check out the Dani’s Dreams Facebook Page to see the Top 10 Coolest Hibernators! Become a Dani’s Dreams Team Member here and find out how to track animals with our winter newsmat! You’ll get a wristband and a certificate, too!

 

Change the World, Children's Museum Night, Donations and Fundraising, Membership, Special Activities, Special Events, Special program, STEM Education, Teacher Resources

Exploring Our Water, Our World at Children’s Museum Night

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Southern Hancock families enjoyed going with the flow at Children’s Museum Night, Feb. 3 in the Zion Lutheran Gym, sponsored by Dani’s Dreams Outdoor Education Programs. The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis traveled to New Palestine, bringing hands-on activities, conservation information and lots of fun facts, including the fact that we use 360 million gallons of water a day in the United States!
During the activities, families learned about the different properties of water, watersheds and how pollution affects the water supply; they made water cycle bracelets, participated in a low-flow shower demonstration, watched water filtration in action, and created oil-and-water drawings.
Children’s Museum Night kicked off the year’s activities at Hancock County’s only Outdoor Education Center! Support STEM and environmental education in Hancock County and receive a membership kit TODAY for your child to “Change the World!”
Don’t miss out on your chance to plant the seeds of innovative education opportunities for New Palestine area children – Join Dani’s Dreams Team and become a yearly member for as little as $25 per individual or $50 for everyone in your household! Each child who joins Dani’s Dreams team will receive a membership certificate, wristband, a seasonal e-newsmat and admission to all Dani’s Dreams events during the year.

Businesses can sponsor Dani’s Dreams environmental education lessons for a Southern Hancock or Zion Lutheran classroom for $100!

Call 317-640-4430 or email dgriffins96@gmail.com for marketing, promotional and sponsorship opportunities for your business with Dani’s Dreams community facilities and events!

Children's Museum Night, Donations and Fundraising, Earth Day Dedication Event, Membership, Special Activities, Special Events, Special program, Teacher Resources

Join Dani’s Dreams Team Today! Celebrate “Our Water, Our World” at Children’s Museum Night Feb. 3

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Dani's Dream Museum Night Flyer

Southern Hancock Families – join Dani’s Dreams at Zion Lutheran School Feb. 3, 6-8 p.m. for the annual Children’s Museum Night with hands-on family activities focusing on “Our Water, Our World.”

Children’s Museum Night marks the beginning of a special year at Hancock County’s ONLY Outdoor Education Center, which is “Spreading Our Wings” to Sugar Creek Township Park and to Southern Hancock Schools with ECOFEST lessons and projects.

We are also kicking off our first annual MEMBERSHIP CAMPAIGN! Don’t miss out on your chance to plant the seeds of innovative education opportunities for New Palestine area children – Join Dani’s Dreams Team and become a yearly member for as little as $25 per individual or $50 for everyone in your household! Each child who joins Dani’s Dreams team will receive a membership certificate, wristband, a seasonal e-newsmat and admission to all Dani’s Dreams events during the year.

Businesses can sponsor Dani’s Dreams environmental education lessons for a Southern Hancock or Zion Lutheran classroom for $100!

Call 317-640-4430 or email dgriffins96@gmail.com for marketing, promotional and sponsorship opportunities for your business with Dani’s Dreams community facilities and events!

 

 

Change the World, Children's Museum Night, Donations and Fundraising, Special Activities, Special Events, Special program, Teacher Resources

Stepping up to the challenge…

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Click here to join the Dani’s Dreams Team and be a part of innovative education activities for our children. Your membership fees support area students and classroom teachers in their quest to think outside the classroom and “Change the World!”

Come to ECOFEST, “Spread Your Wings” and enjoy the fun family activities, crafts and snacks on April 15, 4-5:30 at Dani’s Dreams Outdoor Education Center at Zion Lutheran School.

 

 

Change the World, Donations and Fundraising, Dream It - Do It!, Special Events, Special program, Sustainability, Teacher Resources

Taking care of ‘Our Common Ground’ – Dani’s Dreams coming to Sugar Creek Park

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Dani’s Dreams Outdoor Education Center is joining forces with the Sugar Creek Township Park Board, New Palestine High School teacher Brittany Bennett and her AP Environmental Science class and Donna Rogler, Indiana DNR Project Learning Tree specialist, to develop a second education trail/activities for Southern Hancock students, teachers, families and community members, to be named, Dani’s Dreams Outdoor Education Trail at Sugar Creek Park.

NPHS AP environmental science (APES) students under the direction of Ms. Bennett will research, write and design signage as well as plan and lead activities for the trail. Ms. Rogler will provide curriculum, training and activities through Project Learning Tree.
Initial plans were announced Nov. 4 at the Dani’s Dreams Family Tree Day event at Sugar Creek Park (photo gallery above).

“The trail would have an overall theme of sustainability and should be a place the whole community can enjoy at any time to learn about the nature around them,” said Dani’s Dreams Outdoor Education Center director Donna Griffin.

Dani’s Dreams has been working with New Palestine High’s APES students on the plan for the trail. Four stations are under development, focusing on:

Sustainability
Native trees/plants
Wildlife
Water/Hoosier Riverwatch.

Bennett and her students will be the leaders for the development and implementation of the trail, integrating their work into the APES curriculum and Dani’s Dreams mission to encourage and support teachers in use of creativity in the classroom, to foster an interest in science and discovery with projects designed to develop an appreciation, responsibility and concern for the natural world.

“Dani’s Dreams Nature Education Trail at Sugar Creek Township Park will build the next generation of committed invested citizens of New Palestine,” Griffin said. “This will empower the youth in this community to be leaders in their community and school and active participants in their education. The education value of this project is more than doubled with high school students teaching and mentoring elementary and middle school students and sharing their knowledge with the community.”

Community businesses, organizations, families and individuals who want to be involved in this innovative STEM education project, can contact Donna Griffin, dgriffins96@gmail.com or Brittany Bennett, brittanybennett@cscshc.org.

“Community-based environmental education can also support opportunities for intergenerational learning. With these kinds of approaches, community residents from young to old can learn from each other.” – National Environmental Education Foundation Environmental Literacy Report, 2015.

 

 

Change the World, Donations and Fundraising, Dream It - Do It!, Remember Our Roots, Special Events, Sustainability, Teacher Resources

Join Dani’s Dreams for ‘Tree’-mendous fun today at Sugar Creek Park!

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Take a nature walk, learn about trees and get creative – share the beauty of fall and the wonderful weather (while it lasts) today at Sugar Creek Park.

Dani’s Dreams Outdoor Education Center invites all New Palestine families to Family Tree Day at Sugar Creek Park today, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 4-5:30 p.m. Join us for fun, outdoor education activities for all ages and be a part of the plans for “Our Common Ground.” Contact Donna Griffin at dgriffins96@gmail.com for more information. Stay tuned to http://www.danidreamsoutdooredcenter.com and the Dani’s Dreams Outdoor Education Center Facebook Page for more details.

 

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PHOTOSYNTHESIS: Carbon Dioxide + Water + Light —-> Sugar + Oxygen

Dani’s Dreams reporter Anna Caster, Zion Lutheran student, gives you the fun facts about our towering tree friends:
By Anna Caster
Trees are very beautiful! There are many kinds of trees, such as Norway Spruce, White Pine, Juniper, Tulip Poplar, Maple and Cherry. Trees are useful for many different things in many different ways, such as shade, protection and shelter for animals, paper and wood products, and many other things.
Trees breathe in carbon dioxide and give off oxygen. Humans are the exact opposite, we breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. Trees are helpful in making gum, picnic tables, cutting boards, doors, and trees help keep the soil on the ground from having erosion. Trees are wonderful plants that God made for the enjoyment of humans and animals.
Trees can do so many different things in so many different ways. I love trees and you should too!

Change the World, Donations and Fundraising, Special Activities, Special Events, Sustainability, Teacher Resources

See what Dani’s Dreams is growing at Sugar Creek Park!

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family tree day at Sugar CreekAll New Palestine families are invited to Family Tree Day at Sugar Creek Park this Wednesday, 4-5:30 p.m. Join us for fun, outdoor education activities and be a part of the plans for “Our Common Ground.” Contact Donna Griffin at dgriffins96@gmail.com for more information. Stay tuned to http://www.danidreamsoutdooredcenter.com and the Dani’s Dreams Outdoor Education Center Facebook Page for more details.