Educators acquire teaching aids at Cape's Nature Center

Sue Kopf, an area preschool educator, laughed at the thought of discovering the gold mine of resources for teachers of all ages.

"I've been using Missouri Conservation Department resources for years," she said. "I came here before the Nature Center was built, and the people are always great."

In the 27 years she's been teaching 5-year-olds, Kopf has collected free literature, invited naturalists to the classroom and brought small groups to visit the Department of Conservation and the Nature Center.

Seven programs were offered at the recent all-day educator open house. At a session called "discovery trunk training," thought-provoking educational materials on wheels were examined by teachers and youth leaders and then explained by Nature Center staff. Two weeks time at no charge is allotted for each trunk including reptiles and amphibians, mammals, wetlands, Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery, forest, caves, karsts and insects.

Inside the popular mammal trunk is a binder with several lesson plans, 23 furry pelts, realistic track molds, books, videos, posters and CDs.

Rachel Riley collected more than four bags of free materials to encourage learning by her 4- and 5-year-old students.

"This is their favorite place to come," she said.

Riley felt that capturing children's attention is more likely when they discover nature in their own backyards.

The second educator open house offered programs with grade level expectation lesson plans to help educators meet goals of students scoring high on MAP tests.

Patti House, a Central Middle School teacher, said, "The wonderful thing about conservation materials is they get kids thinking and they need to do that on the MAP test."

Central Junior High School teacher Helen Gibbar brought in the seventh-grade curriculum to efficiently gather resources. Conservation education consultant Pat Holloway made notes to help fill in the gaps for providing resources unavailable at the open house. Educators can request material by filling out a form.

Attendance at midday doubled last year's session.

The open house informed educators of college accredited and non-accredited workshops available to them, classroom field trip grants and the development of outdoor classrooms.

Southeast Missouri State University's mobile learning center was on-site with 2006 schedules for availability.

One of the funding bases for the Missouri Conservation Department comes from a sales tax. Center manager April Dozier said, "Missouri is one of the few states in the nation that has this type of funding. It is a benefit to education and nature center programs."

cpagano@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 133