Project Leader: Lori Buffum
County: All
VMS opportunity: Education – informal
We have numerous opportunities to work with the youth in our community and educate them about our native Texas. Volunteer qualifications? Just an enthusiasm for working with kids of all ages in a school gymnasium for a couple of hours.
Family Science Nights, AKA STEAM/STEM Nights
Each year, usually in the spring, our chapter participates in “family science nights” for local school districts. During these events, held in gymnasiums or cafetoriums, we set up a display of trifolds depicting lots of aspects of Texas nature. Then we have a Bingo/Scavenger Hunt game that kids and families can play for little prizes. Everyone has a good time finding the “answers” to as many of the questions as they can (clues or answers are on the trifold posters) and in addition to getting the prizes, they go home with an answer sheet so they can learn a bit more after the event. We have sometimes added the chapter’s Scat/Tracks display to our tables and everyone enjoys seeing and handling those plastic replicas from 10 common Texas mammals. The science nights are free and open to the public for the local area. We have participated in the districts of Bellville, Flatonia, and Brenham.
Quail Necropsy and Pig Pluck
Usually every spring, Texas Master Naturalist volunteers assist with biology events for young adults. The Quail Necropsy is performed in the 7th grade classrooms of Brenham Junior High School students where we work with a small group of students learning about quail anatomy and the bird’s place in our ecosystem. The Pig Pluck is done later in the spring with a large group of volunteers.
Agriculture Safety Days
All five counties served by TMN-GLC hold an Agriculture Safety Day for school children each year in the spring. Join our volunteers to present “Bite Me or Leave Me Bee,” which focuses on safety in our interactions with snakes, spiders, and insects in our natural world, or another educational presentation.