Appropriate for: All Ages

Blandford Nature Center is made up of 264 acres of forest, wetlands, prairie, meadows, and over 8 miles of marked trails. Our job and passion is to invite our community to enjoy, explore, and learn in nature. We make this happen by allowing our visitors to get their hands dirty—whether by standing knee-high in water to learn about stream ecology or planting squash seeds to start a garden. This is accomplished through an active outdoor environmental lab, a team of passionate, knowledgeable people, and a strong link from past to future promoting sustainability. Blandford offers a wide variety of experiences to support our mission and vision through dynamic partnerships and innovative programming for all ages.
Trails are open from dawn to dusk every day.
The Mary Jane Dockeray Visitor Center is open Monday-Saturday from 9am-5pm.
In honor of Earth month & in partnership with the MSU Science Festival, Blandford Nature Center will be admission-free to all visitors for the entire month of April.

Learn more about Blandford Nature Center - BioBlitz Featured Location

Appropriate for: All Ages

Help us learn about the biodiversity at the Corey Marsh Ecological Research Center by using citizen science apps to record the life found at CMERC!

MSU's Corey Marsh is 320 acres of open prairie and wetlands near Bath, MI. There is abundant wildlife and natural beauty that can be experienced along the over 3.5 miles of trails. The CMERC is part of the Michigan State Bird Observatory (along with the Burke Lake Banding Station), which promotes the protection and conservation of migratory birds and their habitats.

Learn more about Corey Marsh Ecological Research Center - BioBlitz Featured Location

Appropriate for: All Ages

At Indian Springs Metropark you can visit many ecosystems in an hour hike. These include restored prairie, marsh, vernal pond, fen, swamp, and forest, representing what Southeast Michigan looked like in the past. Each of these places are comprised of unique living and non-living parts. Take a hike and sharpen your skills by completing an observational ecosystem challenge at each place. The route is approximately one mile on gravel trails with some elevation change. Download the guide, then visit each stop and complete the observational challenge to learn about the plants, animals, and soil that make each ecosystem unique.

Learn more about Explore the Diversity of Southeast Michigan’s Ecosystems at Indian Springs Metropark: A Self-guided Hike

Appropriate for: All Ages

Geocaching and Adventure Labs are specifically designed to encourage exploration in the outdoors. Join the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Michigan Geocaching Organization as we teach you the basics of Geocaching and Adventure Labs. You will also learn about some unique opportunities to do both.

Learn more about Finding Adventure in the Outdoors Using Technology: Geocaching and Adventure Labs

Appropriate for: All Ages

Within the 525-acres of the Grand Traverse Natural Education Reserve, which adjoins Garfield Township’s Boardman Valley Nature Preserve to the north, are a marsh, swamp, level terrain, upland forest, pine forest, creek, and a river. The cover types of the area provide excellent habitat for beaver, otter, mink, fox, deer, and many other animals and birds. The Boardman River, the central feature of the Reserve, runs through the property. With 7 miles of trails, there is plenty to explore.

Based out of the Boardman River Nature Center in Traverse City, Michigan, the Grand Traverse Conservation District is a community-serving organization that cares for the people and places that make Northwest Michigan so special.

Learn more about Grand Traverse Natural Education Reserve - BioBlitz Featured Location

Appropriate for: All Ages

The Harris Nature Center is composed of 206 acres of wetlands and meadows, and deciduous and coniferous forests. It is on the banks of the Red Cedar River providing a migratory stop-over site, as well as an abundance of habitat for many Michigan Native Species of flora and fauna. The nature center has approximately 6 miles of well-marked trails, including a 1/2 mile long paved trail.

Learn more about Harris Nature Center - BioBlitz Featured Location

Appropriate for: All Ages

Visit a park within the Huron-Clinton MetroPark system and help identify as many living things as you can, using the app iNaturalist. Through our community's collective efforts, we can help identify the living things that use the parks as their home. From plants to fungi and birds to mammals, how many different species can we find together?

Learn more about Huron-Clinton Metroparks - BioBlitz Featured Location

Appropriate for: All Ages

The Little Forks Conservancy permanently protects and improves natural environments in mid-Michigan by leading and inspiring actions that conserve vital habitats and waterways for the benefit of our entire community.​ Since 1996, we’ve protected over 4,023 acres of land, 23 miles of shoreline, and 10 miles of trails.​

Participating locations:
The 70-acre Forestview Natural Area consists of several boardwalks and a bridge to help trail users navigate through the expansive wetlands leading through a red and white pine stand planted in the 1970's to a ridge of hemlocks. Forestview Natural Area has a 1.3-mile trail with an abundance of wildflowers and ferns on the forest floor. The trail offers a number of activity options, good for all skill levels, and is open year-round.
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/forestview-natural-area-little-forks-conservancy-2022-bioblitz

The 72-acre Averill Preserve located by the Tittabawassee River and the along the Pere Marquette Rail-Trail celebrates Michigan’s natural history. Once the site of the world’s largest timber banking grounds, the Averill Preserve is owned and managed by The Little Forks Conservancy has about 1.9 miles of hiking trail.
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/averill-preserve-little-forks-conservancy-2022-bioblitz

Riverview loop is a 4 mile loop trail located near Midland, Michigan that features beautiful spring flowers and is home to blue spotted salamanders. Good for all trail skills, the trail offers a number of activity options and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/riverview-natural-area-little-forks-conservancy-2022-bioblitz

Learn more about Little Forks Conservancy - BioBlitz Featured Locations

Appropriate for: All Ages

Not near one of our other featured locations, or even in Michigan, but want to be a part of our BioBlitz? You can! We want to see what you are observing in your backyard, a park near you, or any other natural area you have access to.

Learn more about Michigan and Beyond - BioBlitz Featured Location

Appropriate for: All Ages

Located on the banks of the Grand River in Delta Township near Lansing, this 63-acre property is an oasis of habitat in an expanding suburban area that attracts spring and fall migrating warblers. Walking paths lead through grasslands, shrub habitats, and along the Grand River. The sanctuary is adjacent to Hawk Meadow, a Delta Township park, whose land was also donated by Michigan Audubon benefactor, Carl Haussman.

Amenities: 1.8 miles of easy, mowed hiking trails. Parking is available at Hawk Meadow; walk across the street for the kiosk and main trailhead. Includes a demonstration native bird garden, and nest box trail.

The sanctuary is open from dawn until dusk year-round.

Learn more about Michigan Audubon Capital City Bird Sanctuary - BioBlitz Featured Location

Appropriate for: All Ages

Come visit any or all of the Michigan Nature Association Nature Sanctuaries during daylight hours to see what you can observe.

Timberland Swamp Nature Sanctuary (https://michigannature.iescentral.com/fileLibrary/Timberland%20Swamp%20Nature%20Sanctuary%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf)
Size: 245 acres; Habitat Types: hardwood swamp, second-growth forest; Special Feature: walking trail

Dowagiac Woods Nature Sanctuary (https://michigannature.iescentral.com/fileLibrary/Dowagiac%20Woods%20Nature%20Sanctuary%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf)
Size: 384 acres; Habitat Types: Southern mesic forest, floodplain forest; Special Feature: 1.5-mile trail loop

Lefglen Nature Sanctuary (https://michigannature.iescentral.com/fileLibrary/Lefglen%20Nature%20Sanctuary%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf)
Size: 208 acres; Habitat Types: wooded uplands, oak barrens, cattail marsh; Special Feature: two walking trails totaling 3.5 miles, Lake Nirvana, artesian well

Holly Nature Sanctuary (http://michigannature.iescentral.com/fileLibrary/Holly%20Nature%20Sanctuary%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf)
Size: 80 acres; Habitat Types: hardwood swamp, northern and dry mesic forest; Special Feature: Two hiking trail loops

Learn more about Michigan Nature Association - BioBlitz Featured Locations

Appropriate for: All Ages

Learn how this new building technology made from a timeless material - wood - unites forests with our built environments to create beautiful, healthy buildings that can play an important role in holistic climate change solutions.
“Mass timber” is an umbrella term referring to a variety of engineered, panelized wood construction materials that can be used in a variety of buildings to create the structural system or to create non-structural and decorative elements. When used for structure, mass timber can displace steel or concrete or reduce the need for these carbon-intensive materials to significantly reduce the embodied carbon footprint (the amount of carbon dioxide emitted to source, manufacture, and transport materials) of a building. In addition, the materials made from wood – a renewable resource – actually store for the duration of their use in the building the carbon sequestered by trees as they grow in forests, helping to keep that carbon out of the atmosphere where it would contribute to climate change. The Michigan State University STEM Teaching and Learning Facility is the first building in Michigan to use mass timber as the basis of its structural system.

Learn more about Mass Timber: What Is It? And Why Does It Matter for Michigan?

Appropriate for: All Ages

Associate Professor Jon Frey shares his research into issues of color and pigmentation as applied to ancient art and antiquities. Attendees will learn about the history of coloration as applied to ancient art in the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University collection, the science behind its analysis, and explore the racial and social implications of color and “whiteness” through an art historical lens. This program takes place with the exhibition History Told Slant: Seventy-seven Years of Collecting Art at MSU as its backdrop. Additional speakers will join the conversation, sharing their perspectives on the intersections of art, science, and social justice.

Learn more about Finding Color in the Collection: Art, Science, and Social Justice

Appropriate for: All Ages

Join MSU's Office of Sustainability and the MSU Surplus Store & Recycling Center for a behind-the-scenes tour of the campus recycling facility and Grow Green Vermicompost operation. Explore how MSU hand-sorts recyclables with the help of a robot. See and smell how composting works. Meet the Spartan worms that transform campus food scraps into nutrient-rich "black gold" for gardens, farms and houseplants! The tour and talk will encourage you to continue going green and touch briefly on why your efforts matter!

Learn more about Behind-the-Scenes: MSU Recycling & "Re-Earth" Tour

Appropriate for: All Ages

Renae Kerrigan, Curator of Science & Planetarium Director at the Peoria Riverfront Museum, will discuss her trip to see observatories high in Chile's Atacama desert and her involvement in the Big Astronomy project. The show produced as part of that project, "Big Astronomy: People, Places, Discoveries," showcases many of the people involved in operating, maintaining, and conducting research at these observatories, emphasizing that astronomy has a place for everyone, will be shown in the planetarium, and interactive demonstrations will be set up in the museum galleries.

Please check the venue website for the most up to date COVID-19 protocols for each event.

Learn more about Astronomy for Everyone: Kalamazoo Valley Museum Statewide Astronomy Night

Appropriate for: All Ages

Join Ella Sharp Museum and Hurst Planetarium for Statewide Astronomy Night. We will be hosting back-to-back FREE planetarium shows that showcase some of our favorite shows, and include a night sky tour of the Michigan night sky. Shows will start at 6pm and 7pm.

Please check the venue website for the most up to date COVID-19 protocols.

Learn more about Ella Sharp Museum & Hurst Planetarium Statewide Astronomy Night

Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, Over 21 years only

We have a lot of water in the world but very little of it is safe to drink. This visually dazzling demonstration will explore how water moves through the environment, and how the water cycle connects the water above ground that we can see to the water below ground that we cannot see. A short groundwater model demonstration using dyes will show how pollution can move with water through the water cycle. What can YOU do to help protect water resources around you, in your watershed, in Michigan’s environment, and beyond?

Learn more about All Water is Connected and Ours to Protect

Appropriate for: All Ages

Visit the Indoor 4-H Children's Garden to experience Butterflies in the Garden!

Learn more about Butterflies in the Garden

Appropriate for: All Ages

Our lab will demonstrate a technique called ‘optical tweezers,’ using lasers to reach out, grab, and manipulate individual swimming cells. It is a very interactive, hands-on method with video game-like joystick action. We invite the public into the lab to directly use our microscope and try to catch and grab hold of live cells and interact with them. We will be learning about cells from the bottom up, and about the latest in technology that allows us to see and interact with individual cells and molecules.

Learn more about Laser Tweezers: Reach Out and Grab Bacteria!

Appropriate for: All Ages

Since April 2020, MI Diaries has been collecting weekly “audio diaries” from Michiganders, throughout the pandemic and beyond. Each week, a handful of these stories are anonymized and added to our ongoing archive. In collaboration with Inquiry Arts, we’ve set up a comfortable garden area for Science Festival participants to relax and hear some selected stories of hope, resilience, and shared experiences from kids, teens, and adults from the past year and a half. Participants will also get a chance to contribute their own audio diary to the project. We’ll provide prompts to get folks started!

Learn more about Listening Garden: Stories from the Pandemic

Appropriate for: All Ages

Explore exciting materials science and engineering hands-on demonstrations with the MSU Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science!

Learn more about Materials Science and Engineering Demonstrations

Appropriate for: All Ages

Join us in the MSU Herbarium and Plant Biology Teaching Conservatory for behind-the-scenes tours and activities that bring the story of a museum specimen to life. This is a first-hand opportunity to experience how a herbarium stewards knowledge about plant biodiversity. From a living plant to a pressed one, learn about what herbarium specimens are, where they come from, and some of the unique ways they’re used by researchers right here at MSU.

Learn more about Getting to the Root of Botany: Behind the Scenes in the MSU Herbarium

Appropriate for: All Ages

Reptiles have roamed the earth for millions of years. These fascinating, often misunderstood animals have had to adapt to some of the harshest conditions earth has to offer, evolving and finding a way to survive for over 315 million years.

MSU's Herpetology Club, accompanied by some cold-blooded guests, presents an up-close and personal experience. Witness and appreciate the beauty of reptiles, their history, and their evolution with engaging discussion and activities for all ages!

Learn more about Michigan State Herpetology Club: Reptile Experience

Appropriate for: All Ages

The Michigan State University Campus Archaeology Program (CAP) shares what inspires them about exploring and preserving MSU's past. At CAP, we work to protect the archaeological resources on MSU’s beautiful and historic campus, and we love to share that knowledge with our communities! Talk to MSU archaeologists, view a brand new exhibit, hold 3D printed artifacts, enter our yearly archaeological coloring contest, play archaeology-themed games, and dig for artifacts!

Learn more about MSU Campus Archaeology Program: Dig into MSU's Past

Appropriate for: All Ages

Discover what it is like to be a behavioral neuroscience researcher through hands-on experiences. Mount tissue from a rat brain onto microscope slides and look at it under a microscope. Learn how to identify different brain regions based on cell structure and anatomical landmarks. Use a rat brain atlas to match where these sections are located in the brain. Explore how these brain regions regulate behaviors in rats such as social play and social investigation.

Learn more about A Look Inside a Rat Brain

Appropriate for: All Ages

Visit the MSU Bug House to learn about insects and other arthropods! Have a chance to meet and interact up close with live beetles, tarantulas, cockroaches, scorpions, and more! Explore the over 1,000 preserved insects from around the globe.

Learn more about Explore the Amazing World of Insects at the Bug House!

Appropriate for: All Ages

Visit the MSU Libraries Digital Scholarship Lab to experience multiple visualization types. Check out group immersive experiences in our 360-degree visualization room. Try on a VR headset to explore the world of 3D content. Have the opportunity to create your own 3D content through a workshop.

Learn more about Immersive Visualization in the MSU Libraries Digital Scholarship Lab

Appropriate for: All Ages

Tour the MSU Libraries Hollander Makerspace! See a variety of 3D printers in action and learn about our technologies which are available to the public. Explore a digital Minecraft version of the library using a credit card sized computer, the Raspberry Pi.

Learn more about Makerspace Open House

Appropriate for: All Ages

Audiovisual formats have changed rapidly over the last two centuries. Due to this, preserving them for future audiences is challenging. Often we feel like we cannot touch or handle the object for fear of damaging it forever. Ever wonder what Edison’s wax cylinder would feel like in your hand? What would it sound like to hear the audio on that cylinder? Want to see how we splice films for digitization? The MSU Libraries’ Media Preservation team is offering the chance to learn about different audiovisual formats, how to care for them, and even hear/see footage from our collections.

Learn more about Media Through the Ages: A Petting Zoo

Appropriate for: All Ages

Come have fun exploring what makes molecules go fast and slow, along with the important real-world effects of these motions! A number of crowd-pleasing experiments including elephant toothpaste and liquid nitrogen ice cream will illustrate what happens when molecules go fast or slow, connecting the motion of what we can't see with what we can see.

Learn more about Chemistry in Action

Appropriate for: All Ages

Learn the science and technology behind measuring human movement and how it is applied in a wide variety of settings, from the study of elite athletes to people with movement disorders. Hands-on activities include using different technologies to measure your own movement.

Learn more about Are You the Next Olympic Athlete? Measuring Movement in Health and Disease

Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, Over 21 years only

Have you ever wondered how your brain instructs your limbs to move? Some insight may be found through looking at how octopi can move their arms without constraints and the neural connectivity patterns associated with this ability. Understanding the octopus’ ability to move its arms can translationally be applied to advancing the performance of human prosthetic limbs and soft robots.

Learn more about Monsters of the Deep: Amazing Facts About the Octopus!

Appropriate for: All Ages

mRNA vaccines have been heralded as a new frontier in vaccine technology by scientists around the globe. However, these successes and advancements have been obfuscated and misrepresented, unfortunately leading to fear and misunderstanding of mRNA vaccines. In actuality, research into mRNA vaccines has been ongoing for decades. Come discover the background of mRNA vaccines, from their history, how they work and recent advancements, and learn to use this information yourself to critique the misconceptions floating through the internet.

Learn more about mRNA V: Debunking Myths and Misconceptions with Science and Information

Appropriate for: All Ages

Infection Defense is modeled off other popular tower-defense style video games with unique, appealing graphics for a fun gaming experience. The game immerses students in the skin and allows players to defend against infection using white blood cells, providing an accurate experience of how infections progress and (eventually) how they are stopped. The game gives students basic understanding of the immune system that can then be applied to how vaccines work to protect against incoming infections. Each level has incentivized multiple-choice style questions for players to answer to receive a reward. Defend against the incoming hordes of pathogens with Infection Defense!

Learn more about Infection Defense: The Educational Video Game

Appropriate for: All Ages

Have you ever wondered how well superheroes obey the laws of physics or if science fiction movies were actually science fact? Women and Minorities in the Physical Sciences (WaMPS) will be tackling some of those very questions. Join us as we watch clips from well known movies like: Ant Man, Indiana Jones, and Interstellar and try to see which of them are really possible and which are a bit too Mission Impossible!

Learn more about Good vs. Bad: How Well Do Movies Obey the Laws of Physics?

Appropriate for: All Ages

Tower Guard holds the keys to Beaumont Tower, one of the iconic structures of MSU. Take a tour of the tower, while learning about its history and significance.

Tower Guard is a second-year student organization and honor society dedicated to serving the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities (RCPD) at Michigan State University. Tower Guard collaborates with the RCPD to help scribe for exams, create more accessible textbooks, hold one-on-one tutoring, and build a more inclusive environment for all Spartans.

Learn more about Beaumont Tower Tours

Appropriate for: All Ages

Did you know that plants are at the cutting edge to fight global warming? Join the MSU Plant Research Laboratory staff to conduct experiments to find evidence that plants use the power of light to take up carbon dioxide. Plants also use the carbon dioxide to produce the sugars we need to make biofuels and food. Have a favorite color? Find out if plants can use that color of light to power photosynthesis.

Learn more about Going Green: How Plants Make the Oxygen We Breathe

Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, Over 21 years only

Bioluminescence is a naturally occurring phenomenon used by various animals to produce light. For example, the firefly uses this mechanism, as well as several deep-sea creatures. The goal of the program is to explain and demonstrate how these unique, light emitting mechanisms were evolved in nature through millions of years. Furthermore, how those mechanisms are now being used by scientists for biomedical research.

Learn more about From Seaside to Bedside: How Marine Organisms and Insects Can Be Used for Diagnostics and Therapeutics

Appropriate for: All Ages

Make your own edible ice cream aquifer and learn about the water underground. Find out how groundwater in the aquifer can become contaminated by watching what happens when you start adding chocolate syrup, sprinkles, and soda to your ice cream aquifer. Information about the presentation: We will provide an interactive introduction about aquifers, groundwater, their importance, and actions people can take to protect these resources. Following, we will demonstrate groundwater pumping and contamination using a groundwater model. The groundwater model has aquifer cross sections and illustrates how water and pollutants move through these systems. Participants will add dye to varying sections of the model, pump water out, and we will explain what is happening to the groundwater. Participants will then create their own edible aquifer from ice cream in a small cup. Various ingredients will be used to represent the aquifer, confining layers, etc. We will have an interactive discussion about groundwater issues in Michigan and how participants can help protect this valuable water resource.

Learn more about Edible Ice Cream Aquifers: What Can You Learn About Groundwater?

Appropriate for: All Ages

Sponsored by the National Science Foundation Future of Work grant, we collect meeting minutes, videos, emails, surveys of student and corporation project teams to study how small and large teams function. We use machine-learning techniques to analyze our meeting data and pinpoint ways to improve team performance. We then use lab experiments to see how teams interact in the short term.

Learn more about Can Machine Learning Help Team Performance?

Appropriate for: All Ages

Meet members of MSU's student-led SciReview Journal and explore exciting student writings that encourage curiosity in science.

SciReview is a student led journal. Members pick an article topic and write a review. Or, this article can be based on their own original research. After the finalized product is submitted, the board reviews and publishes the document.

Learn more about MSU SciReview Spotlight

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age

What is the difference between climate and weather? How can we see climate change happening around us? How can we see weather in our daily lives?

Using science, we will demonstrate the difference between these two phenomena that are so prevalent in the news and media today. The goal of this interactive presentation is to educate children on weather, climate, and the science involved in both of these so they feel employed with the power of knowledge to make a change in our climate reality.

Learn more about Climate Versus Weather

Appropriate for: Over 21 years only

Astronomy is even better with beer — come learn how scientists explore the universe at a bar near you! This FREE event features accessible, engaging science presentations on topics ranging from planets to black holes to the beginning of the Universe. Presenters are from local research and educational institutions like Michigan State University. We will have a trivia game to test your astronomy knowledge and space-themed raffle prizes! There will also be lots of time to ask questions and interact with the presenters and other scientists who tag along for the beer.

Learn more about Astronomy on Tap

Appropriate for: All Ages

Come time-travel with MSU paleontologist Dr. Danita Brandt and students from the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences as we explore Michigan’s ancient plants and animals and the environments they lived in, preserved by the rocks and fossils we find under our feet. The Fossil Hall at the MSU Museum will be our portal back 400 million years when Michigan was covered by a shallow tropical ocean and trilobites ruled the seas. No scuba gear necessary, but bring your imagination and any fossils you would like to learn more about.

Please check the venue website for the most up to date COVID-19 protocols.

Learn more about Michigan's Life of the Past at the MSU Museum

Appropriate for: All Ages

Enjoy an all-ages evening of science and art-inspired activities offered in celebration of the MSU Science Festival. Jointly hosted by the MSU Museum and the MSU Broad Art Museum, activities range from behind-the-scenes tours to art-making!

Please check the venue website for the most up to date COVID-19 protocols.

Learn more about MSU Museum and Broad Art Museum Night at the Museum

Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, Over 21 years only

In celebration of the anticipated May 2022 opening of the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) as a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science user facility, the public is invited to get a behind-the-scenes look at a special “FRIB Countdown” event on Saturday, April 23.

The event will run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the last tours starting at 4 p.m. It is free and open to all ages, and no appointment is necessary to participate.

The FRIB Countdown offers the public a glimpse at FRIB before FRIB’s scientific research program actually begins. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn more about FRIB and rare-isotope research before FRIB opens its doors to scientific users from around the world.

Learn more about Countdown to FRIB

Appropriate for: All Ages

The event will feature experts from the College of Communication Arts and Sciences sharing their latest research and ideas with the community. It will feature opportunities for discussion and provide an opportunity to celebrate the social science of effective communication.

Learn more about Communication on Tap: Science Festival Edition

Appropriate for: All Ages

Gather around the campfire for a fun evening of campfires, flashlight hikes, and exciting hands-on activities focused on natural science and the beauty of the nature around us. Come hike the trails after dark, dissect owl pellets, learn about how to identify trees, and more! We’ll end the night with a presentation by the campfire, so come join us to learn more about the nature that’s right in our backyards!

Learn more about Campfire Science

Appropriate for: All Ages

Stop by any time during this drop-in event and learn how to use the smartphone iNaturalist app to identify plants. We’ll provide handouts and have botanists standing by to help you use this fun, easy, and free app that uses photos you submit to identify plants (and animals and fungi) encountered in nature. The images you take are cataloged online and form the basis of an observation that scientists and the public can use to learn about where plants grow and when they are flowering. Visitors may also collect wild plant material in the morning to bring to the second plant identification event in the afternoon of the same day. Your observations in the Red Cedar River Corridor in the W.J. Beal Botanical Garden will help inform our riverside restoration project. It will be an opportunity to learn about restoration, conservation, native plants, invasives, land use history, and more.

Learn more about Become a Botanist I: Identify Plants and Make Scientific Observations with iNaturalist

Appropriate for: All Ages

Visit the Michigan State University Herbarium (a ‘plant library’) to learn about plant identification using comparison, dichotomous keys, measurements, and microscopes. Guests will get first-hand experience comparing plants they collected to specimens in the Herbarium to confirm IDs. This is a more advanced workshop that builds on the information from the morning workshop (attendance not required). Learn how to identify plants like a professional, use the tools in the MSU Herbarium, and learn about native plant diversity.

Learn more about Become a Botanist II: Identify Plants with the MSU Herbarium and Dichotomous Keys