The Brainerd Lakes area is one of Minnesota's most beloved "up north" destinations. With a population of 162,000 that expands by approximately 300,000 annually, North Central Minnesota is home to a complex mix of year-round residents, second home owners, seasonal visitors, and a growing immigrant population. The area is home to both promise and challenge. WonderTrek Children's Museum and its partners envision a more connected region and state and actively works to create connections by bringing together visitors and residents from diverse backgrounds in shared experiences.
This groundbreaking project creates a new model for school field trips, using mobile and web technologies to capitalize on the natural behaviors and learning styles of today's students.
This groundbreaking project is creating a new model for school field trips using mobile and web technologies to capitalize on the natural behaviors and learning styles of today's students. "Play the Past: the Field Trip for the 21st Century Learner," uses technology to create self-directed, personalized, responsive field trip experiences that deepen students' connection to history while honing their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. "Play the Past," which launched in January 2014, is first being used in the "Then Now Wow" exhibit.
This groundbreaking project is creating a new model for school field trips, using mobile and web technologies to capitalize on the natural behaviors and learning styles of today's students. Serving approximately 7,000 students annually, Play the Past demonstrates how museums can use technology to create self-directed, personalized, responsive field trip experiences that deepen students' connection to history while honing their critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Pollinators play a key role in ecosystem function and in agriculture, including thousands of native plants and more than one hundred U.S. crops that either need or benefit from pollinators. However, pollinators are in dramatic decline in Minnesota and throughout the country. The causes of the decline are not completely understood, but identified factors include loss of nesting sites, fewer flowers, increased disease, and increased pesticide use. Developing an aware, informed citizenry that understands this issue is one key to finding and implementing solutions to counteract these factors.
The Pollinator Ambassadors for Urban Gardens project will enhance outreach capacity for pollinator education by creating an outreach toolkit and training educators and youth for engagement in native pollinator education.
Continuing pollinator habitat creation and enhancement on 11 sites from Lakeville to St. Cloud, with public engagement and education centered on youth, schools, and community awareness of natural resource stewardship.
The Fridley Historical Society is applying for a grant that will enable us to hire an interviewer to conduct 15 oral histories in order to explore the post World War II suburban development of Fridley, and then have the histories transcribed. Our intention is to cover the years 1945-1970, by which time Fridley was largely developed.
This project restored and enhanced 165 acres of prairie & woodland habitat along the Mississippi and Rum Rivers. Outcomes include increased plant diversity and habitat for game and non-game species and is beneficial to migratory waterfowl on the Mississippi River flyway as well as to pollinators and resident wildlife.
Healthy prairies contribute numerous benefits, such as providing habitat for wildlife and pollinators, maintaining and improving water quality, stabilizing roadsides, and providing a sustainable source of materials for bioenergy production and other products. Since European settlement the once vast expanses of Minnesota prairie covering 18 million acres have been reduced to small remnants totaling about 235,000 acres. With this decline has also come a drastic reduction in the genetic diversity of the various species typical of Minnesota prairies.
Produce, broadcast and share 26 science-based environmental programs, 26 call to action and 27 outdoor lifestyle videos that inspire and demonstrate how to protect and engage with Minnesota's natural resources.
Research shows that few young people receive a high-quality social studies education, despite the key role social studies plays in preparing students for civic life. Active and responsible citizens identify and analyze public problems, respectfully deliberate with others, take constructive action together, reflect on their actions, and influence institutions. We support young people in experiential learning that develops the knowledge, skills and motivation to participate in civic life.
This program is to increase prescribed burning on Division of Parks and Trails (PAT) lands in order to meet shortfalls in achieving PAT restoration and management objectives.
This project will develop and present to the MN association of townships on stormwater best management practices and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) stormwater permits.
Minnesota's 48 native orchids are at risk. The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum will expand conservation of species through propagation and banking and begin restoration planting research in the program's second phase.
Indigenous people have always used stories to preserve and teach culture to each succeeding generation. Through this project, the Minnesota Historical Society will collect, record and interpret stories specific to the Jeffers Petroglyphs site.
The stories from tribal elders will be recorded and transcribed in their native language as well as in English, culminating in written interpretations that will be made available to a wide audience of scholars, students and the general public.
In phase two of this project, stories relating to the Jeffers Petroglyphs historic site told by Dakota elders will be transcribed, translated and made available to students, teachers and the general public. In phase one, the Minnesota Historical Society collected, recorded and interpreted the stories. The stories will be made accessible in Dakota and in English via the internet, DVD and also at Jeffers Petroglyphs. This project helps preserve and teach Dakota language and culture.
