“Look down, look up, AHHHHH!”
Week of July 19, 2026 – July 25, 2026
by Katie McLaughlin, Environmental Educator
“Okay everyone line up. Face towards the log cabin, take your deep breath. Three, Two, One, GO! AHHHHHH!”
“AHHHHH!” “What did you find?” “A bone!”
Screams of games, discovery, and even end of the day exhaustion can be heard throughout the Baltimore Woods preserve until the end of August.
As many of us have learned when working with children, there are different types of shouts and screams. Sometimes I will encourage them as well. Are we standing around waiting for someone to use the bathroom? Alright- quick game of screaming toes! Make a circle with the group, look down at someone’s toes, look up, if you are making eye contact with the same person scream!
However, this week we were on a hike along the Griffiths trail I heard a different type of scream behind me – I knew a camper had found something. When I turned around I saw them holding up a bone! While I didn’t know what animal it came from immediately I knew it was a scapula. I quickly used the moment to have the campers take a close look at the bone to see if they could figure out what they found. I would walk them through where the bone is found on our own bodies and its function. Later, I was able to almost trick them into using some field guides to figure out what animal it came from. We later found out it was likely a raccoon!
Camp is never quiet. Someone is telling a riddle, running playing capture the flag, or shouting to their counselor because they want to share something they found. We encourage this at Baltimore Woods because in these moments of being silly, we are also connecting to each other and nature. Someone might be scared of a bug and scream, and a different camper will scream with excitement and share all the interesting information about it, often helping ease the nervous camper in the process. I find my quiet teachable moments often right after those different kinds of shouts, whether that kid was feeling excited, silly, or even nervous.
We invite our members to enjoy a weekly blog written by our naturalists. Every blog will be uniquely different but always inspired by nature. We may share a memory from a recent hike at The Woods or teach you about an animal or plant that lives on the preserve. No matter the topic, we will be sharing with you our passion for nature and celebrating the connections we all have to the natural world. Each blog will be connected to a weekly set of activities and ideas to help you put nature in your hands, even if you’re at home!