Learning about herps, frog songs and whales

FINDLAY — Nearly any topic can become a program offered by the Hancock Park District. This month visitors can learn about the important role that flies play in nature. They can also use charcoal to create art, and spot yooperlites using a UV light. Quirky? Unusual? Odd? There's no telling what members of the program department will come up with when they put their heads together, according to Naturalist Michelle Rumschlag. "It's fun. It's like the best job," she said. Past events have focused on pop culture ideas like Pokemon Go and Harry Potter, where visitors made wands from the stripped-down branches of invasive honeysuckle. "I did a Star Wars theme planetarium program. It was on May 4, may the fourth be with you. I dressed up like Princess Leia. I tied the world of Star Wars to our solar system," she said. The team, which includes Rumschlag along with program specialists Chris Allen, Tim Kleman and Maclain Teeple, are busy now coming up with ideas for spring. It takes a lot of organization and planning, she said. "I do the scheduling, all the email, all the paperwork. Then I go over all of their programs. I have a lot of spreadsheets," she said. "I am like the queen of spreadsheets." Some of the programs, like the Maple Sugarin Public Day in March, are held annually. "And then there's some things we do monthly like open houses at the Discovery Center at Oakwoods and the McKiniss House," she said. Story times are also monthly with Discovery Stories for children ages 4-6 and Wee Ones, for 3 and younger. Programs for teens are more difficult to come up with because of the wide age range, said Rumschlag. And there are certain hikes and programs offered just for adults. The park district also presents programs for school groups and for seniors in assisted living facilites. "Those places you don't do the presentation PowerPoint. It's got to be the hands-on, talk, touch," she said. "We start talking to and it brings back memories for them which is so cool." When developing a program, Rumschlag said she starts with a topic or an age group. "So if I really want to do something on bald eagles, OK, here's what I want to cover. What age group would that fit? Or what kind of program is it? Is it a sit-down talk? Can it be hands-on? Can I hike? It kind of develops that way," she said. Sometimes people will attend the programs and sometimes they won't. "That's the million dollar question, why they come or why they don't come," Rumschlag said. "They're going to come if they're available to come, and if it fits their age group, and if it's a topic they're interested in." A lot of times she'll see something that sparks an idea for a program. "You look at what you've done in the past or you come up with new ideas. We try to do seasonal things," said Rumschlag, who guides a lot of the full moon hikes. She also checks programs held at other park districts. "It's not really stealing because there are only so many nature topics that you can talk about," she explained. "And you're going to do it differently because your facilities are different." One-day Adventure Day camps for ages 6-12 are popular. "You can talk about any topic for six hours. I could talk about tree squirrels or you could probably do a woodchuck day. But we do multi-day camps for closer ages like 7, 8 and 9 year olds. I did one on water birds. That's a broader subject. It's a closer age group. You can do that," she said. Programs for youth — early preschool age and early elementary — are probably the most popular, said Rumschlag. "We keep track of our attendance and watch the trends, like numbers don't lie," she said. "And we assess how the program went. Was it the wrong time of day? Was it the wrong time of year? Sometimes it is and then sometimes it's like, I don't know what happened." She'll tweak it and offer it again. There are also times she just shelves an idea. "We did pioneer teas at the McKinnis House for years and then interest just dwindled. So I want to bring it back, but it just hasn't worked yet," said Rumschlag. "It's there. It's in my brain. Let's bring it back and see. We've done that with some things." The park district still offers a Peter Rabbit tea. It used to be so popular, they offered five programs one day and four the next. "And then it's like dwindle, dwindle. Ok, then we got rid of the second day. So now we do two teas on one day. That's where it's at," she said. It can be a real mystery as to what happened, said Rumschlag. "I did a program once where the little kids were going to jump in leaf piles in the fall," she recalled. Initially she came up with the idea because she was sitting in one of the parks and happened to see a big sycamore tree by the playground. "I'm like, for the little kids, oh, that would be fun. We could just jump in leaves and do things with leaves. It doesn't have to be brain surgery. It can be the simplest of things," she said. The day of the program was sunny and beautiful, she said. No one showed up. "There were tons of people in the park so I don't know what happened with it," she said. "But I still think it's a solid idea. So I'm going to give it a year or two. I'll go back where I want it. The little kid's playground is there, and I'll tie that in. And maybe we'll do it again."