Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 10, 1982)
to create a staff permit so they can | bombed Syrian targets in the ne collected sucn parking stick- i-i »_ • 1 ilearning be fun? At Ease, The Battalion Friday, September 10, 1982 9 Rabbits and snakes and birds,oh my by Dana Smelser Battalion Staff If you believe there's more to |Llife than reading textbooks, the ?Brazos Valley Museum of Natural ISdence has something for you. This “untypical" museum in P the Brazos County Park stresses ■active participation in exploring r nature through canoe trips, nature B trails and live animal exhibits. I Although much of the museum is IA walk across the l museum's parking lot 1 leads to the Carter Creek ' Nature Trail where blue- [ jays, cardinals, swamp rabbits and an occasional deer romp. 1/ i geared towards children, people |Y of all ages probably would enjoy the many programs it has to offer. For animals that do more than play dead, visit the museum's col- | lection of native live animals, which include numerous snakes and turtles and pet Marzola, a friendly corn snake, who has vi sited several elementary clas srooms in the area and likes to be petted. If creativity is your thing, you I can make a beatle or spider out of ; plastic foam, wooden sticks and E cleaners. Tst your skills at ing your favorite insect in the , Find-a-Bug area. natioiul'i The museum also houses a dis- ifica#’ covery room where children can (it;. dig into boxes of leaves and snake skins and observe science first hand. A walk across the parking lot leads to the Carter Creek Nature Trail, where' bluejays, cardinals, swamp rabbits and an occasional deer romp. During the l$*minute walk, a novice can learn to identity poison ivy, examine a cotton attend r staid 1 ? tionw itown iakftl /ean i. We’tf • wood tree and discover log jamming. This fall, programs on the basics of paddling and controlling a canoe will be taught. A canoe trip down the winding Brazos Riv er will be offered where nature can be observed from a different angle — a boat. A certified hunter-safety course also ways to keep safe in the wil derness. Children can attend Dinosaur Day or learn to build bird houses so they can watch the critters in their back yard. The museum also hosts a Babies & Beasties program where infants are exposed to na ture through the use of animals and toys. In November, the museum will turn a new leaf and set a exhibit named Cotton Days. The exhibit will trace the evolution of cotton farming in the Brazos Valley and stress the importance of cotton to this area. Visitors also will be able actually use a loom and see how cotton is made into material. And if the urge to read suddenly hits during all this, try the museum's small library. The museum is in the Brazos Center on Briarcrest — just off the Highway 6 bypass. The Brazos Center is part of the Brazos Coun ty Park, constructed on 50 acres of The museum's collection of native live animals in cludes numerous snakes and turtles and Marzola, a friendly corn snake, who visits elementary classrooms in the area and likes to be petted. land. Roughly 30 acres of the park remain in a natural state, serving as an outdoor laboratory and na ture trail. Museums, like attics, collect all those things that are too good to throw away, although there is no place to keep them. These birds are only a few of the goodies in the Brazos Valley Museum. [icWjl ittaW :deM