Wittenberg, Clark County Park District combine science with fun

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

Wittenberg University and the Clark County Park District are combining this weekend to catalog animal species throughout Clark County.

They also hope to get area youth involved with science by hosting a BioBlitz event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at George Rogers Clark Park, inside or near the barn near the entrance.

“The goal with the BioBlitz is to let everyone who sees a species in the park to be able to contribute the data to the bigger project,” said Amber Burgett, assistant professor of biology at Wittenberg. “Everyone gets to be a scientist for a day.”

The two organizations opened the festivities Friday. There, some children were seen with Wittenberg students in Burgett’s class making their own bird feeders, getting an animal painted onto their faces or making their own butterflies with balloons.

Michelle McWhorter, who works for Wittenberg, decided to spend some of her free time Friday afternoon at the event. She brought her two children along.

“They are young and they like animals and they like to do stuff. So making a bird feeder or touching a tadpole is pretty cool,” McWhorter said.

She recommends other parents take their kids to enjoy the activities.

“It is fun, you don’t always get to do this and there are lots of fun stuff to do and kids learn,” McWhorter said.

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