Today’s hike was at the Nature Realm, in Akron. The Nature Realm has a visitor center with a bird-watching station, many stuffed animals, and naturalists on hand to answer questions. We met up with a naturalist who had also taught science at CVCA as a long-term substitute teacher a few years ago. He stayed with us the entire two hours we were there, and was very friendly and helpful.

We started the day with looking out the windows of the bird-observation area, and Dave (the naturalist) explained about some of the species of birds that stay in Ohio for the winter and some of the adaptations that allow them to survive during the cold weather. We then headed outside and tried to feed the birds, but the weather was warm enough (in the forties) that the birds were not all that interested. We then hiked all three trails at the Nature Realm, which includes a small but very cool suspension bridge, several small hills, a couple of ravines, and an overlook or two. Dave gave us fun facts about some of the plant and animal life as we walked along, and while some of the kids were not always riveted in their attentions, they were at least polite and not being a distraction for those who were listening. In the end, I’m guessing we hiked about three miles, and then we went back inside of the visitor center. Dave got out a mid-sized snake to show the students, and gave them time to wander around the center, looking at the exhibits. The entire visit seemed to go well.

Mer’s Italian culture class started to wrap up today. She finished covering Italian music and how the classic music of Italian culture remains relevant even in Italian popular culture. She played a couple of different review games to try to help cement some of the information she’d shared over the last six days, and she ended the class by giving the students time to work on mini-presentations they would give on Friday.