Nature Experienceship - Birding with Merrill Webb at Antelope Island

What an incredible time we had during our semi-annual birding adventure with the infamous Merrill Webb on Saturday, September 14, 2013. This event was even better than many other events we have had in the past because WE SAW A GREAT HORNED OWL!!! We visited the beautiful state park Antelope Island and saw thousands and thousands of birds. We even saw pronghorns, coyotes, and bison. What made the trip even more fun and adventurous was the on and off rain. True birders bird rain or shine and the group we had with us were true birders indeed. Mr. Webb brought his enthusiasm for the birds and it was truly contagious. For those of you who weren't able to attend, keep your eyes peeled for our next birding adventure in the winter. 

Michael Silva, museum educator

Here is a list of the different species of birds we saw on our trip:

1. Eared Grebe

2. White-faced Ibis

3. Northern Harrier

4. Sandhill Crane

5. Killdeer

6. American Avocet

7. Willet

8. Long-billed Curlew

9. Red-necked Phalarope

10. Franklin's Gull

11. Ring-billed Gull

12. California Gull

13. Caspian Tern

14. Great Horned Owl

15. Burrowing Owl

16. Northern Flicker

17. Willow Flycatcher

18. Hammond's Flycatcher

19. Northern Shrike

20. Cassin's Vireo (Extremely rare in Utah)

21. Warbling Vireo

22. Black-billed Magpie

23. Common Raven

24. Barn Swallow

25. Ruby-crowned Kinglet

26. Wilson's Warbler

27. Western Tanager

28. Green-tailed Towhee

29. Spotted Towhee

30. White-crowned Sparrow

31. Red-winged Blackbird

32. Western Meadowlark

THAT'S 32 SPECIES OF BIRDS!!!

We may be closed but that doesn't mean we can't show you a SNAKE!!!

The Bean Museum is ready for a new school year! We’ve updated several of our live animal shows this summer and we are excited to share them. These new and interactive shows provide all who participate with a fun and engaging learning experience. This is a great way to keep in touch with the museum while we are closed. 

We can present these shows as either:

an OUTREACH (for a small fee, we will come to you) 

or a WEBCAST (live video chat via Skype).

For more detailed information about these shows and other resources we have available, please download this "School Programs" guide.

Wildlife Hour - Thanks for a great summer!

Wildlife Hour

This summer while we’re closed, the Bean Museum has been putting on ‘Wildlife Hour’ at local libraries. We provide programs for kids 12 years and under about animal adaptations featuring Underwater, Underground, Nocturnal, Flying and Arctic animals. The hour usually includes games, crafts, live animals, and other learning activities. Jared, a 6 year old who has come to Wildlife Hour every week so far said that his favorite part of the program are the live animals that we feature, which demonstrate these adaptations. Wildlife Hour has been a great way to continue interacting with the community while our building is closed, and it provides a fun way to keep kids learning about wildlife diversity. Sandra, a parent at Wildlife Hour says she likes the “smaller, personalized, and more focused setting” that the activities provide, she said also, “If given the choice between animals or not, we’ll take it!”

 

Wildlife Hour will continue through August 9th. Check with your local library to see when we’re visiting!

Nature Experienceship - Conifers with Larry St. Clair

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.

Join us on our next adventure in the fall.

Michael, Museum Educator

Nature Experienceship - Birding with Merrill Webb

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

The animals we saw during the Experienceship:

- Bald Eagle

- American Wigeon

- Mallard

- Northern Shoveler

- Common Goldeneye

- Common Merganser

- Great Blue Heron

- Black-crowned Night-Heron

- Northern Harrier

- Red-tailed Hawk

- American Kestrel

- American Koot

- Eurasion Collared-Dove

- Red-winged Blackbird

Nature Experienceship - Aspen Forests with Sam St. Clair

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.

Visit us at http://mlbean.byu.edu/

Add us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/bean.museum

Michael Silva, Museum Educator