Children’s Nature Hour teaches children about eastern box turtle

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Neighbors | Zack Shively .Marilyn Williams shows the children an eastern box turtle at the Ford Nature Center on Aug. 10 during the Children's Nature Hour.

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Neighbors | Zack Shively.Marilyn Williams reads a book about eastern box turtles to children in the Ford Nature Center on Aug. 10 for Children's Nature Hour.

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Neighbors | Zack Shively.A child paints during Children's Nature Hour at the Ford Nature Center on Aug. 10.

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Neighbors | Zack Shively.Children paint plates to look like turtle shells at the Ford Nature Center as a part of the Children's Nature Hour on Aug. 10 at the Ford Nature Center.

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Neighbors | Zack Shively.Marilyn Williams and the children pretend to be turtles to think about a good place to hide during the Children's Nature Hour at the Ford Nature Center on Aug. 10.

By ZACK SHIVELY zshively@vindy.com

Mill Creek Metroparks hosted a Children’s Nature Hour event on the eastern box turtle at the Ford Nature Center on Aug. 10.

Marilyn Williams lead the event in the upstairs of the Ford Nature Center. To start, she read a book to the children that explained much of the turtle’s eating habits and unique characteristics, such as how it lives in wooded areas and cannot swim. Each page had a picture for the children to see the turtle. Williams had a crafted eastern box turtle shell to show the children the qualities it holds, like a high bump.

After the story, Williams gave the students paint and a small paper plate to design their own turtle shells. Later, the children received green paper and glue to paste the paper to the plate to make it look more like a turtle. The children also got a block to stamp different colors on the plate to look like the eastern box turtle’s shell.

The group went on a small hike around the Virginia J. Axemann Nature Trail For All People and into the area behind the nature center. Along the trail, Williams pointed out several areas where the eastern box turtle would hide, eat or drink. The group also pointed out other wildlife present in the area, such as caterpillars and a hummingbird.

Williams led everyone back inside to meet the eastern box turtle that the nature center has in an observatory room. One of the children found a worm on the ground while in the back area, and Williams fed the worm to the turtle so the children could watch it eat. Then, Williams brought the turtle out for the children to touch, watch it walk around and point out the characteristics brought up in the book earlier.

The Ford Nature Center has Children’s Nature Hour every other month for children ages 3-6. The next event will be Sensing the Fall Season on Oct. 12. The center also hosts Tales for Tots for children ages 10-11 during the months without a Children’s Nature Hour.