Hunting for crepuscular and nocturnal animals, creating our solar system out of Play Dough, and discovering bioluminescence in the Indian River Lagoon are just a few of the exciting activities experienced by eight gifted children from Liberty Magnet and Treasure Coast Elementary Schools at a recent Lagoon Nights sleepover at the Environmental Learning Center in Wabasso. Mrs. Becky Anderson, gifted services instructor,organized the overnight outing as a way to allow her interested gifted students to learn more about our local eco-system.

Heather Stapleton, ELC Education Director, led the group through nature trails, stopping along the way to tell stories and lead activities designed to cultivate our nonsight senses. The students learned why pirates wear eye patches, how owls' ears triangulate sound and how deers' ears collect sound. After the students created their own edible constellation which served as a bedtime snack, the night ended with a bedtime story. In the early morning, students watched a mother Osprey feed her young in a nest overlooking the ELC campus.

For more information on "Lagoon Nights at the ELC," call 589-5050.