What a great adventure we had with Dr. Larry St. Clair during the Conifers Nature Experienceship. We had the opportunity to see beautiful trees all over campus. We can now tell you the difference between a blue spruce, a ginseng, and junipers. We learned about the different pine cones and how trees reproduce. We had the privilege of seeing the beautiful giant sequoias near the duck pond. Dr. St. Clair's love for these beautiful trees was contagious. We all walked away from the experience with a great love for our tree friends on campus.
Nature Experienceship - Bald Eagles February 9, 2013
We had another wonderful outing with Merrill Webb! The event started off with a wonderful mini-ceremony by former students of Mr. Webb in appreciation of Mr. Webb's amazing influence as a teacher. We made our way through different locales throughout the morning. Our first destination we saw a bald eagle as it was flying away. We may have missed the eagles since they appeared to be leaving the roost to in search of food. Nevertheless, we did have the opportunity to see a few of these magnificent animals. We also had the opportunity to see 14 other species of birds including the Black-crowned Night-Heron. We enjoyed wonderful doughnuts and orange muffins from Provo Bakery while we observed these incredible animals. Join us for our next experienceship with Mr. Webb. Be sure to join our email list and like our facebook page. Michael Silva, Museum Educator
What an amazing time we had at the last Nature Experienceship with Dr. Sam St. Clair. We had the opportunity to go up past Aspen Grove and check out the amazing Aspen trees. We learned how vital Aspen trees are to the health of a forest. Did you know that although there may be many Aspen trees, they may actually all be connected to the same root system? Pretty Amazing!!! Did you know that you can use the powder on an Aspen tree trunk as sun screen? Did you know that Aspen trees developed a gross taste in their leaves in order to dissuade browsers (elk and other plant eating animals) from taking away their source of nutrition? Are you aware of the fact that these trees have pockets, when pierced by insects, shoots out a stream of fluid which blows these pest away? (Dr. St. Clair described this unique characteristic as equivalent to us popping a zit). Dr. St. Clair's passion for these vital trees was absolutely contagious. Everyone in attendance truly enjoyed the experience. Dr. St. Clair taught us how wildfires in the forests are actually important to the overall health of forests in the long run. How you may ask? Well, finding out these answers are one of the many reasons to attend EVERY NATURE EXPERIENCESHIP you possibly can! For those who skipped out on this Nature Experienceship because they assumed trees are boring...ask anyone in attendance and they will explain to you how this experience was the furthest thing away from boring. We all walked away with a greater appreciation for the forest and in particular, Aspen trees. We hope to see you at our next Nature Experienceship. Make sure you visit our website regularly and add us on Facebook to make sure you don't miss out on the next Nature Experienceship! Enjoy these video clips.
“Think of it as a tuition rebate.” Dr. Smith told us, as we ate sweet yew berries straight off of the bushes outside the Jesse Knight Building on BYU campus. Students passing by stared as we plucked clover and munched on flower petals. Last Saturday, Dr. Smith took us all over campus, showing us a dozen different varieties of edible plants that most people see every day, but would never think of eating. As part of the Wild Edibles Nature Experienceship we tasted plants like pansies, nasturtiums, wild sumac, Oregon grapes, yew berries (the flesh of the berry is not poisonous) and more. Some of the plants we tasted, like the wild sumac, were edible, but as Dr. Smith explained, not very tasty alone, so we learned how to turn them into tasty drinks and dishes.
After we’d collected all sorts of berries, leaves and flowers we made some of the tastiest things I have ever had. Acorn flour muffins, purslaine casserole and wild sumac lemonade were some of our favorites. By the end of the morning, we had learned a ton about wild plants that are not only edible, but really tasty, too! We were really lucky to have an enthusiastic expert on edible plants with us to show us things that we would normally never try. Thanks Dr. Smith! Keep your eyes peeled for future wild edibles trips and join us Saturday, October 20th at 8 AM for a tour of aspen forests with Sam St. Clair!
What an excellent birding adventure with Merrill Webb! We had the opportunity to see 34 different species of birds!!! We drove to different preselected sites around the Provo area. It’s incredible what amazing animals are around our own backyard. Merrill Webb discussed the details that differentiate each bird from one another. We were taught specific sounds different birds make. For example, the Killdeer sings its own name…truly amazing! We had the opportunity to watch a Red-tailed Hawk soaring around looking for food. We saw two large, graceful Sandhill Cranes. We even had the opportunity to see an Osprey (Merrill Webb’s favorite bird of the day). What a unique and fun experience it is to have an enthusiastic and experienced birder (Merrill Webb) guiding us through this fun adventure. Make sure you join us this upcoming winter as Merrill Webb takes us on another fun birding adventure. Who knows, this experience may just give you the desire to embark on your own “Big Year”! Join us on the 29th of September for Wild Edibles with Tom Smith or on October 20th for Aspen Forests with Sam St. Clair! Sign up HERE
Our website mlbean.byu.edu is back up and functional. Please request a live animal show here.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Starting June 18th, the Bean Museum will give a weekly Wildlife Hour at your local library. Check the poster below for the day of the week that we will be at your library. These classes will have everything from learning something to getting to see a real live animal. Children from the ages of 6 to 12 are encouraged to come, but everyone is truly a child at heart.
Click on the poster for a better view of the dates.
