Enjoy Local Nature With Your Family

(StatePoint) Year round, more families are taking to the great outdoors for fun activities. Whether for economic reasons or a desire to unplug from the world of computers and video games, parents are increasingly turning to local parks, wildlife outings and outdoor sports.

While children are born with a curiosity about the natural world, more and more, digital media is absorbing young peoples' time, say experts. In fact, research from the Kaiser Family Foundation indicates kids are absorbing more than seven hours of media content daily.

"We need to capitalize on the latest digital trends to help us spark a curiosity among students in outdoor activities," says Mary Rollins, vice president of educational partnerships of Discovery Education.

Parents who want to encourage natural curiosity need to stimulate children's interest at an early age. Exploring nature can be done inexpensively and close to home.

Local Wonders

One of the great beauties of America is its geographical diversity: from mountains to lakes, deserts to waterfalls, and canyons to plains. State parks abound with diverse wonders and offer many activities for youngsters, such as boating, fishing and camping. You can search locations online at ExploreTheBlue.com, TakeMeFishing.org, or nps.gov.

"Parents and teachers need to stimulate children's natural interest in the outdoors and lead by example. Simply getting outside together to explore can inspire a new generation of boaters and anglers," says Frank Peterson, President and CEO of the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation.

Actively Involve Kids

Once you get kids outdoors, here are some ways to stimulate curiosity:

* Let them lead. You may be tempted to lead explorations of the woods, but children are more likely to enjoy the outdoors if they have some say in their experience. Whether for exercise or quiet reflection, let them choose and develop their own relationship to nature. 

* Create maps. Have kids create a map of your outdoor excursion area and track where you go and what you see along the way to compare different habitats within an ecosystem.

* Enter contests together that encourage outdoor activities. For example, TakeMeFishing.org and Discovery Education have launched a digital program called "Explore the Blue" and an essay contest for elementary schoolchildren. Kids need to write a short essay describing their favorite fishing or boating experience and submit a picture or photo for a chance to win a family vacation to Yellowstone National Park and a $250 gift card. 

* Encourage kids to draw or write about what they see in a journal. Or create a scrapbook to categorize your adventures on land or water, and have children research their floral and animal spotting.

* Build boats. Create model boats using different materials, then test them out on the water for a fun activity that will teach the basics of buoyancy, water displacement, surface area and boat design.

For more information on the contest and ideas for fun outdoor activities for kids, visit ExploreTheBlue.com.

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What I LEARNED on My Summer Vacation in Atlanta

/PRNewswire/ -- Only five more weeks of summer remain, but that doesn't mean children still can't learn something new over the summer. Below are some of Atlanta's best places to bring classroom subjects to life (and kids will have so much fun, they won't even realize they're learning!).

First Period: Science/Biology

-- Zoo Atlanta inspires value and preservation of wildlife through a
unique mix of education and outdoor family fun. The Zoo's newest
attraction, Trader's Alley: Wildlife's Fading Footprints, featuring
the debut of two new sun bears, opened in June 1010.

-- The Georgia Aquarium unveiled the newly-renovated Georgia-Pacific Cold
Water Quest Gallery featuring redesigned exhibits that provide greater
immersion into the habitats of two of the Aquarium's marquee animals:
African penguins and the Southern sea otter.

-- Fernbank Museum of Natural History invites families to explore the
amazing world of geckos - from shadowy nighttime hunters with
unbelievable camouflage, to neon-colored nectar eaters that scamper
around in daylight - with the exhibit Geckos: Tails to Toepads.

-- Families can tiptoe through the treetops at the Atlanta Botanical
Gardens on the new Canopy Walk and explore of the city's last
remaining urban forests from 40 feet in the air, then tour the Edible
Garden and Outdoor Kitchen to learn how food goes from the farm to the
table.

Second Period: English

-- The Margaret Mitchell House & Museum allows budding young readers and
writers to explore - and be inspired by - the personal journey that
led to Mitchell's Pulitzer-Prize winning book.

-- The Wren's Nest House & Museum celebrates the legacy of author Joel
Chandler Harris, most well-known as author of the Uncle Remus
folktales, with guided tours of the home and grounds. The museum's
storytellers - the Wren's Nest Ramblers - bring their favorite Brer
Rabbit stories to life on Saturdays at 1 p.m.

Third Period: History

-- Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site has a permanent Children
of Courage exhibit, which is designed to engage and educate the site's
younger visitors through the stories of the children of the Civil
Rights Movement.

-- Jimmy Carter Library & Museum offers a re-designed interactive
experience focused on the Carter's humanitarian work. Offering
something for everyone in the family, a highlight includes an
interactive table that lets visitors take a virtual trip with the
Carters around the world to fight disease and promote democracy and
human rights.

-- The Atlanta History Center has recently added the Connor Brown
Discovery Trail through their six historic gardens, featuring
interactive stations that include activities and information about the
trees, plants and animals that children might encounter along their
expedition.

Fourth Period: Art

-- High Museum of Art lets younger visitors to go beyond just looking at
important works of art with the help of the museum's Discovery
Backpack, borrowed from the Coat Check area, which is filled with art
projects, puzzles, books, games, and easy-to-follow instructions.

-- The Center for Puppetry Arts celebrates the works of Jim Henson, from
The Muppets to Fraggle Rock with three exhibits on permanent display
-- Jim Henson: Wonders from His Workshop, Jim Henson: Puppeteer and
Jim Henson: a Man and His Frog.

Fifth Period: Social Studies

-- Inside CNN Center Studio Tour features behind-the-scenes
demonstrations of the studio that brings news to more than one billion
people around the globe, including the ways that weather maps serve as
background for newscasts. Kids love being in front of the green
screen!

-- At Imagine It! The Children's Museum of Atlanta children will be on a
mission to discover the many ways they can save energy and protect the
planet during Conservation Quest. They will learn about what energy
is, where it comes from, and the countless ways they can conserve
energy every day.

-- World of Coca-Cola is where children of all ages will be thirsty to
learn more about the fascinating history of the popular soft drink and
taste 60 varieties of Coca-Cola from around the world.

Sixth Period: P.E.

-- Six Flags Over Georgia is home of "40 Fun Things for Kids to Do," the
most comprehensive menu of kid-friendly, mom and dad approved fun
activities at the park.

-- Or, stop by Six Flags White Water's new attraction, The Wiggles Water
World, featuring an interactive family area boasting more than 40,000
square feet of water cannons, telescopes, net climbs, secret
crawl-throughs, port-holes and slippery slides.

-- Kids ages 3-11 get in free on Fridays at Stone Mountain Park with each
full-price paid Adventure pass, which includes new live entertainment
and Sky Hike, one of the nation's largest adventure courses.

Seventh Period: Math

Kids can work with their parents to create an itinerary and budget for their excursion, and visit Atlanta.net/summer or Atlanta.net/backyard to find a package that provides the best value!

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