Springtime means school field trips! This past week I had the privilege of going with my oldest daughter's class on a wonderful field trip to St. John's Arboretum in Collegeville, Minnesota. The arboretum is over 2,000 acres of land near St. John's University.
The arboretum has many different land types, with lots of insects, animals and plant life. Spring has been a little late this year, so everything is still brown. Within a week or two, all of this will be green.
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| The boardwalk through the swamp |
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| A stream through the swamp |
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| A lake |
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| My oldest with her friend looking for insects and animals in the lake |
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| The prairie (very brown at this point!) |
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| The woods |
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| This structure was built last fall by an artist in residence at St. John's named Patrick Dougherty. It's called a Stickwork Structure and is put together with sticks only. There are five separate buildings. We had so much fun going through these buildings. |
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| Looking up, from inside one of the structures |
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| And, finally, a picture of the lake outside my in-laws' backdoor. The ice finally went out last Tuesday! Looking forward to making more memories at the lake this year! |
So beautiful! I'm have to message you to see where you are in Minnesota. We are meeting my husbands family there this summer for a week on a lake :)
ReplyDeleteMy son held a boa constrictor on his class trip last week! I did not!!
Yes, let me know where you'll be going! Minnesota is one of the best places to come and relax at a lake. My in-laws live on a lake, and we live on the river, but we're still packing up and going to a lake up north for a long weekend this summer! It's a lot of fun. :)
DeleteHaha, the stickwork structures remind me of the home Puddleglum lives in in the old BBC Silver Chair movie. Haha!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a lot of fun!
It was a lot of fun! The house is very whimsical. :)
DeleteWhat a neat day of exploring for everyone! The thatched stick buildings are fascinating. My favorite field trip was to head into downtown Houston to the Grand Opera to see Fiddler on the Roof. It was my first big production musical and since I'm a music person, hearing such professionals plus being surrounded by skyscrapers coming and going made a lifelong impression.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it amazing how much those field trips impact us?!?! I remember going to an old pioneer village on a class trip and it was very influential in my love for history.
DeleteA whole house made of sticks? Awesome!
ReplyDeleteIn 4th grade, my class went to the county fair. Pigs, sheep, concerts...I don't even remember what else we saw. But my mom chaperoned and led my group. It was a special day just for that reason. :)
It does sound special! I was so thankful to spend the day with my daughter. She still holds my hand and hugs me in front of her friends. :)
DeleteSo glad you got to share this experience with your daughter. Sounds like it was a lot of fun.
ReplyDeleteIt was, Keli! It's always fun and interesting watching your children interact with their friends, as well. Good group of kids. :)
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