Fermilab’s Family Outdoor Fair is scheduled for Sunday, June 9 from 1-4 p.m.
What could be better than spending a fun-filled day outdoors and learning about natural science at the same time?
For the 11th year in a row, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory is inviting families, scout troops and other youth groups to attend the Family Outdoor Fair on Sunday, June 9, from 1-4 p.m. The fair takes place outside the Lederman Science Center and highlights the plant and animal life found on the 6,800-acre Fermilab site in Batavia.
More than a dozen outdoor activities are planned for the fair, including a prairie scavenger hunt and a visit with Fermilab’s herd of bison. Kids can test whether they can run as fast as a bison, can sweep for insects and pond critters, and thanks to the Naperville Astronomical Association, can safely get a long look at the sun.
Once again, the Northern Illinois Raptor Rehabilitation and Education Center, along with local raptor trainers, will be on hand with live hawks, falcons and owls, as well as a collection of bird bones, feathers and hunting gear for children to enjoy.
Kids will get to check out critters at the Family Outdoor Fair. Photo: Reidar Hahn
“As a National Environmental Research Park, Fermilab studies our many ecosystems which include the amazing plants and animals that make our natural sites unique,” said Maureen Hix of the Fermilab Office of Education and Public Outreach. “We want kids and parents to connect with this nature through hands-on opportunities, to discover the wonder and value that nature provides us. We hope they will transfer this experience to their own back yards!”
Of course, their back yards probably aren’t quite as vast as Fermilab’s. More than 1,000 acres of the laboratory site is restored natural prairie and restoration continues in woodland and wetland areas as well. This is part of Fermilab’s mission through the U.S. Department of Energy as a National Environmental Research Park.
The Family Outdoor Fair is geared for first through seventh grade students. The fair is free, and will take place rain or shine. Members of the media are welcome to attend. No registration is required. For more information, call 630-840-5588 or email edreg@fnal.gov.
The Fermilab Outdoor Fair is supported by Fermilab Friends for Science Education.
Fermilab is America’s premier national laboratory for particle physics and accelerator research. A U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science laboratory, Fermilab is located near Chicago, Illinois, and operated under contract by the Fermi Research Alliance, LLC. Visit Fermilab’s website at www.fnal.gov and follow us on Twitter at @Fermilab.
The DOE Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit https://energy.gov/science.