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<br />tl'..... II<; <br /> <br />000472 <br />Children's Programs Featured on Visitors' Day <br /> <br />Tamara Kraus <br /> <br />All too often, people who travel far across the <br />county to visit The Land Institute are unable to get <br />directions from Salinans on how to travel the last few <br />miles. We do frequently joke about being "nationally <br />known and locally unknown," and the humor is based <br />on the blank stares Land staff and interns receive <br />when they tell local people where they work. <br />Each year in October the Land Institute hosts <br />a Fall Visitors' Day. The program of talks, workshops <br />and tours provides another excuse for people who are <br />familiar with the Land to visit, take a walk on the <br />native Wauhob prairie, and learn about the progress <br />of the research. This year Visitors' Day was held on <br />October 6th, from 12:30 to 4:30. While we explicitly <br />invited all Friends of the Land, we made a special <br />effort to encourage local people to attend. <br />Organized by development assistant Beth <br />Gibans, the 1990 open house was a collaborative <br />event involving staff from the Lakewood Park Nature <br />Center, Smoky Hill Museum, Saline County Exten- <br />sion Service, as well as many Salina-area individuals. <br />People contributed by assisting in both organizing <br />and leading the programs. For several weeks before <br />Visitors' Day, a planning committee comprised of <br />Land Institute staff and interns and a number oflocal <br />people met to discuss ideas for the program. The <br />insights of people less involved with The Land Insti- <br />tute proved to be extremely helpful. For example, <br />John Wachholtz, a high school biology teacher in <br />Salina, suggested that we have a panel discussion <br /> <br /> <br />Beth GiOOns welcomes Visitors' Day participants. <br /> <br />about what interns at the Land Institute do, what <br />brings them here and what they do once they leave. <br />To introduce The Land's work to the commu- <br />nity, we offered tours of the grounds, research plots, <br />and gardens throughout the day. Workshops in- <br />cluded "Gardening in the Fall" led by Dana Jackson <br />and Thorn Leonard, "Xeriscaping in Kansas" by Chip <br />Miller, and for educators and youth leaders, "Using <br />the Prairie as a Workshop" by Linda Caselman and <br />John Wachholz. Berni Jilka presented our slide <br />show, recently put together by Beth Gibans, and <br />showed the videos "Uncertain Harvest" and "The <br />Earth is the Lord's: Ecology as a Religious Concern" <br />which feature the vision of The Land Institute. <br />We put particular effort into developing an ex- <br />tensive children's program. Near the classroom <br />building, tables set up for the Discovery and Crafts <br />area offered a wide array of interesting activities. <br />Children examined snake skins, furs, sticks, leaves, <br />bones and insects. They made leaf-imprinted book- <br />marks, and used casts to make prints of animal <br />tracks. The Salina High School Raptor Education <br />Project displayed a number of stuffed raptors with <br />information on their habits. Behind the classroom <br />towards the Smoky Hill River, storyteller Aunt Carol <br />(Carol Cole) exercised the imagination of both chil- <br />dren and adults seated on a semicircle of hay bales. <br />Julie Fisher, Annette White, Kris Schaefer, Holly <br />Ewing, and Tamara Kraus presented three different <br />hour-long workshops for the children: "Explore the <br />Prairie," "Insects of the Prairie", and "Soil, It's not <br />Just Dirt." <br />In the Art Gallery visitors viewed an exclusive <br />exhibit entitled 'Where We Find Ourselves: Images <br />from the Landscape" by area artists Terry Evans, <br />Mary Kay and Frank Shaw. Visitors' Day ended with <br />refreshments and music in the big barn by Ruby <br />Tilton, Kris Schaefer, and Beth Gibans. <br />Over 250 people attended Fall Visitors' Day, <br />the majority of whom had not previously visited. So, <br />a little more knowledge of The Land Institute and, we <br />hope, some of our vision has seeped into the commu. <br />nity. <br /> <br />~. <br /> <br />~. <br /> <br />i <br />I.' <br /> <br />'. <br /> <br />( <br /> <br />(-. <br />~ <br />~ <br />~f; <br />~.. <br /> <br />::. <br /> <br />,;; <br /> <br />" <br />:? <br />f:3 <br />~. <br /> <br />" <br />~ <br />/. <br />t: <br />~ <br />, <br />~~<( <br />(. <br />~' <br /> <br />:~ <br /> <br />\~ <br /> <br />..... <br />,', <br />:; <br />u <br />% <br />'N <br />~ <br />~~: <br />?d <br />:'t <br /> <br />~ <br />i2 <br />";,.; <br />;.J <br />",' <br />.).; <br /> <br />, <br /> <br />;-;. <br />, <br /> <br />;:. <br />/ <br /> <br />" <br />'.-..' <br /> <br />Special thanks for their assistance to Cynthia <br />Abbott, Steve Burr, Lisa Calloway, Linda Caselman, <br />Carol Cole, Terry Evans, Joyce Fent, Nick Fent, Julie <br />Fisher, Esther Frese, Karen Graves, Mary Kay, Ivy <br />Marsh, Evelyn Maxwell, Chip Miller, Frank Shaw, <br />Marge Streckfus, Ruby Tilton, Chuck VanGundy, <br />Debbie Vignatelli, John Wachholz, Annette White. <br /> <br />::.. <br /> <br />.',. <br />.- <br /> <br />?~ <br /> <br />~~, <br />.~.- <br />;...-; <br />~ <br /> <br />.'.,. <br /> <br />8 <br /> <br />:/ <br /> <br />'... <br />