New Pond Farm Education Center Inc

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CENTER PROVIDING PROGRAMS IN NATURAL SCIENCE, NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE, FARMING TRADI- TIONS, ASTRONOMY AND THE ARTS.

NEW POND FARM EDUCATIONAL CENTER OFFERS PROGRAMS ON THE ENVIRONMENT, AGRICULTURE, NATIVE AMERICAN STUDIES, ASTRONOMY AND THE ARTS. OUR 102-ACRE PROPERTY, WITH ITS MANY OUTDOOR TEACHING SITES, ALLOWS US TO SHARE DISCOVERY PROGRAMS IN MANY NATURAL HABITATS. WE ARE PROUD OF OUR WORK WITH AREA SCHOOLS, WHERE 5,000 CHILDREN VENTURE TO THE EDUCATION CENTER EACH YEAR FOR HANDS-ON FIELD TRIPS THAT BRING THEIR CLASSROOM STUDIES TO LIFE AND CONNECT THEM TO THE NATURAL WORLD. STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT OUR NATURAL ECOSYSTEMS AND MAKE MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS SO THEY WILL WANT TO BECOME RESPONSIBLE STEWARDS. AS A MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL "NO CHILD LEFT INSIDE COALITION" OUR EFFORTS IN ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION COMBAT THE MUCH STUDIED AND DOCUMENTED "NATURE DEFICIT DISORDER." MANY LOCAL SCHOOLS LOOK TO NEW POND FARM TO PROVIDE A WINDOW INTO THE PAST LIVES OF EASTERN WOODLAND INDIANS. OUR AUTHENTICALLY RECREATED ENCAPMENT WITH THATCHED LONFHOUSE, BARKED WIGWAM, FOOD STORAGE PIT, AND FIRE CIRCLE IS AN EXCEPTIONAL OUTDOOR CLASSROOM. STUDENTS ACTIVELY SCRAPE DEER HIDES, GRIND CORN WITH A MORTAR AND PESTLE, AND SAMPLE TRADITIONAL WOODLAND INDIAN FARE AS THEY SIT BY THE FIRE, LEARNING HOW OUR LOCAL TRIBES LIVED OFF THE LAND. THE "NATIVE AMERICAN MUSEUM" IN OUR LEARNING CENTER, FILLED WITH GENUINE AND LIVING ARTIFACTS FOUND ON THE PROPERTY BY ARCHEOLOGISTS, HELPS TO ROUND OUT THE PROGRAM AND BRING THE IN-SCHOOL CURRICULUM TO LIFE. NEW POND FARM OFFERS A CHANCE TO BE A PART OF A WORKING FARM AND MAKE CONNECTIONS WITH WHERE OUR FOOD REALLY COMES FROM (NOT JUST THE GROCERY STORE). VISITORS PARTICIPATE IN FARM CHORES, COLLECT WARM EGGS, WATCH OUR FARMERS MILK MEMBERS OF THE HERD, TRY THEIR HANDS AT SPINNING FLEECE FROM OUR SHEEP, AND PURCHASE DAIRY PRODUCTS, MEATS AND YARN. STUDENTS OF ALL AGES CAN WATCH OUR HEIFERS MATURE INTO COWS AND JOIN THE HERD. THEY CAN WATCH OUR SHEEP BEING SHORN AND OUR CHICKENS TAKING DUST BATHS. THEY SEE OUR HARD WORKING FARMERS FERTILIZING THE PASTURES IN THE FALL WITH OUR COMPOSTED MANURE AND THEN TAKING OFF BALES OF HAY IN THE SPRING. THE FARM CHORES BECOME A VERY UNDERSTANDABLE PART OF THEIR EDUCATION. WE ROUND OUR PROGRAMS WITH EVENING CLASSES AT OUR ASTRONOMY CENTER, WHERE VISITORS CAN VIEW PLANETS AND CONSTELLATIONS WITH OUR 14" CELESTRON TELESCOPE WITH "GO TO" CAPABILITIES, AND WE ALSO OFFER A CHANCE FOR MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL ACTORS TO PARTICIPATE IN OUR RENOWNED WINTER AND SUMMER SHAKESPEARE PROGRAMS.