Hi,

My dd participated in the National Geographic bioblitz held in California this year. She had a great time, learned from very knowledgeable scientists and got excited about research and nature. I got the information on where the next bioblitz will be held. All you living close by should really consider participating. It was really a great experince.




"The next annual National Geographic-National Park Service BioBlitz it's planned for the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, a 15,000-acre urban park accessible to Chicagoans via commuter train.

Indiana Dunes boasts 15 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, plentiful undulating sand dunes, swamps, prairie, and forest land."

What is BioBlitz? Who can participate (ages, requirements, etc.)? When will this be held?

I'm interested and have some family in that area, so it's not out of the question for us to travel for it, if DS7 is the target audience and if it's something he might enjoy.

Could you share more details, please?

Thanks!

Sounds intriguing. Please tell us more!

Hi,

Bioblitz is a program sponsored by National Geographic in which a group of scientists and volunteers search for and count all the local plant/animal species over a 24 hour period. We chose sea birds and mammals, but there are also groups that study bugs, snakes, butterflies, flowers, etc.

Children usually need to be over 8 years old but I saw a couple of younger kids there. The scientist we were paired with has published several books on local birds, so he was very knowledgeable and went out of his way to teach my dd about the birds we saw. We also got to see lots of dolphins, a few sea lions and sea otters.

Anyway, if you go to www.nationalgeographic.com/bioblitz you can get more information. I don't think they have set dates for 2009 but if you keep checking on the website they will probably post them soon. They choose a different state every year, so we probably won't be able to do it again anytime soon.

Thanks! That looks really interesting. I'm bookmarking it!