Parks and Recreation

April 7, 2016 by Staff Report

GEAUGA PARK DISTRICT

For more information on these programs, contact the park district at 440-286-9516 or visit online at www.geaugaparkdistrict.org.

Registration Open For Day Camps

Starting mid-June, Geauga Park District will once again provide hands-on outdoor summer camp opportunities for kids entering grades five through 10.

For youth entering grades five through seven, a weeklong Adventure Camp will be held the weeks of June 27, July 11 and 18, and Aug. 1 and 8. New this year, a Junior Naturalist experience will be the week of June 13.

For teens entering grades eight through 10, weeklong experiences will be available the weeks of June 20 and July 25. Additionally for this age group, single-day X-Treme Adventures will target more specific areas of fun July 5 through 8. This year’s X-Treme day titles are Survival, LaDue Kayak, Engineering Challenge and Natural Science Sampler.

Camp attendance costs $150 for full weeks and $30 for X-Treme Days, all 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Financial assistance is available.

Before and after care options are available for campers registered the weeks of June 27, July 25 and Aug. 1 at an additional fee.

Geauga Park District’s summer camps are sponsored by the Chip Henry Institute for Outdoor Adventure, a special initiative established through the Foundation for Geauga Parks in memory of Judge Charles “Chip” Henry, who had great passion for nature and youth.

Spring At Observatory Park

For casual visitors, Observatory Park is open daily 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. at 10610 Clay St. in Montville Township. For those wanting a more guided experience, however, astronomy naturalist Chris Mentrek is eager to show guests around this International Dark Sky Park.

Park buildings are open the second and fourth weekends of each month: Friday and Saturday for night sky viewing with park district telescopes from 6-11 p.m., as well as Sundays from 1-4 p.m., including The Sky Tonight Planetarium Show at 2 p.m. Planetarium shows fall on April 10 and 24, May 15 and 29, and June 12 and 26.

More structured programming is also available for visitors of all ages and interests.

View the classic E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial during Movie Night on June 25, from 8:30-11:30 p.m. Pre-show astronomy activities will begin at 8:30 p.m. Also, take in a planetarium show and spy deep into the sky using park telescopes. Bring blankets and lawn chairs; popcorn and lemonade will be provided.

On May 9, anytime from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., head out to Observatory Park to watch the Transit of Mercury: the planet crossing the face of the sun in a rare “mini-eclipse.” Safe sun-viewing equipment will be provided.

Biweekly Friday programs include Meet Mercury on May 13 and 27 from 7-8 p.m.; Juno to Jupiter on June 10 and 24 from 7-8:30 p.m.

Special programs to study the season’s full moons are scheduled for April 22 (The Frog Moon), from 8-9:30 p.m.; May 23 (The Corn-Planting Moon), from 8-9:30 p.m.; and June 20 (The Strawberry Moon), from 9-10 p.m.

In honor of Mathematics Awareness Month, adults are invited to Observatory Park on April 8, from 7-8:30 p.m. to explore The Mathematics of River Meanders, followed by night sky viewing using park telescopes, weather permitting.

Have a refracting telescope? For just $10, register for the Make a Sun Funnel Workshop and keep to safely view the sun.

Visit Solar Day & Solstice Sunset on June 20 from 6-9:30 p.m. to cook s’mores in a solar oven, participate in solar-powered toy car races, test light sensitive beads, view the sun through a special telescope, and witness the full moon rising at sunset on the longest day of the year.

All Observatory Park programs are free to attend without registration.

April Bird-Watches

Springtime abounds park district walks to spot feathered friends. Programs will be cancelled in heavy rain or storms.

April Evening Adventure

April 15, 7-9 p.m.

Experience a genuine Geauga County springtime performance: a woodcock air show accompanied by a chorus full of spring peepers piping, barred owl bantering, beaver tail slapping and heron flapping at Eldon Park, 16315 Rapids Road, Troy Township.

Wilson’s Snipe “Hunt”

April 16, 7-8:30 p.m.

Go on a “snipe hunt” at Frohring Meadows, 16780 Savage Road in Bainbridge Township to see and hear the Wilson’s Snipe’s aerial courtship dance as it returns to its wetland home during spring migration. Bring binoculars.

Snowmobiling Success

Adding to its host of winter offerings including free snowshoeing and several groomed cross country skiing trails, Geauga Park District was excited this winter to introduce a pilot program for snowmobilers at Observatory Park in Montville Township.

The program distributed 40 permits that allowed permit-holders to utilize a trail at the park Saturdays and Sundays from 12-5 p.m. Riding snowmobiles in the park was permitted only on designated portions of the Nassau Connector and Woodland Loop trails.

Look for information about opportunities to snowmobile in Geauga Park District in the winter of 2016-17.

For information on local snowmobiling, visit www.snowmobileohio.com or stop by the Ohio State Snowmobile Association before the Geauga County Maple Festival’s Sunday parade on Washington Avenue, where it will be lined up with draft horses. The group also holds monthly public meetings.