Glacial Park offers outdoor family exploration

Start your "Lost Valley Nature Detective" adventure at Lost Valley Visitor Center in Glacial Park, Route 31 and Harts Road, Ringwood.

Indoor displays and activities will get you ready for an outdoor exploration, and each month a new topic is featured.

Check out the free exploration backpack to borrow binoculars and field guides and grab a scavenger hunt to help you search the wild spaces of Glacial Park.

June's topic is "Turtles." Read a story about turtles, look at shells and skulls of turtle species found around Glacial Park and then go for a hike to look for them at the marsh overlook. You can play a game about the endangered Blanding's turtle.

Topics change monthly. In July it will be "Predators and Prey," followed in August by "Incredible Insects."

Compare the skulls, teeth, scat, and other adaptations between predators and prey, then play a game about predators' hunting instincts. Take the animal signs scavenger hunt outside for your hike.

Weekday or weekend, morning or afternoon, stop by the Lost Valley Visitor Center, open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visitors who wish to borrow items to take out for a hike must leave a driver's license and return items 30 minutes before closing.

For more information, call Prairieview Education Center at (815) 479-5779 or visit www.MCCDistrict.org.