2009 Animal Inspired Art Contest

Get out your paints, pencils, pastels or other art supplies and create animal-inspired original art for the official, 2009 Lake Erie Nature & Science Center t-shirt design contest. The winner takes home $100 and a copy of the limited edition t-shirt featuring the first place design. All finalists will receive Walter R. Schuele Planetarium star show passes for four.

Designs must include 3 or more of the Center’s resident animals and be colorful, fun and kid-friendly. Check out the rest of the contest guidelines on the official entry form at this link and keep in mind that some guidelines have changed from last year's contest.

Our 2008 winner was a Westlake High School student but the contest is open to all ages! Entries must be submitted by February 28. The shirt with the winning design will debut for sale at the annual Family Fun Fest at Lake Erie Nature & Science Center on Sunday, June 7. Photocopied forms and multiple entries per person are acceptable. Artwork is not returned.

Finalists will be on display by mid March both at the Center and online in the Kids Corner Nature Art Gallery where you can also view last year's finalists. To weigh in and support your favorite finalist, stop by Lake Erie Nature & Science Center to fill out a ballot, leave a comment here on this blog or email info@lensc.org. The winner will be chosen and notified by March 31.

Brrrr... it's cold outside but we're open

With so many area schools closed today, we've had a few people inquire if we are open and holding our classes. The answer is, yes! The primary concern for most schools making the decision to close today was the potential harm to children walking to and from school or waiting at bus stops in extreme wind chills. That is not an issue for us. If there ever is a weather-related or other reason for us to close, look for an orange "Alert" box in the upper left corner of our homepage or give us a call. We also post our closings on the area TV stations.
So, if you've got cabin fever, stop in, visit the animals and a sit by our fire! We're open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week, including today!

Coast Guard Rescued Swan In New Home

Lake Erie Nature and Science Center has found a new home for a black swan rescued by the Coast Guard. According to a Coast Guard Press Release, personel from the U.S. Coast Guard Station Lorain, rescued the swan that was stuck in the ice near the Black River Railroad Bridge Sunday afternoon. The black swan was safely recovered and transferred to the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center. You can see a photo of the rescue at this link to the Coast Guard website.

Wildlife staffers (including Derek Skapes who's pictured holding the swan) were initially told that the Coast Guard was bringing in a rescued wild goose. By permit, our Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Program is limited to rehabbing wildlife. That's why we immediately found a safe and appropriate home at a Northeast Ohio farm equipped to care for domestic waterfowl.

You can also see media coverage on Newschannel5.com, 19ActionNews.com and Cleveland.com.

WKYC Turns the Camera on Us

If you didn't catch it on January 4th, two-part interview with Wildlife Director Dave Wolf - live from Lake Erie Nature & Science Center- is as of this writing, posted here on WYKC's website. Dave showed off a variety of our educational animals as anchor Kim Weeler quizzed him all about our mission. The chinchilla looked a little wriggly on camera, but the boa was so mellow Dave told Kim it was not much harder to handle than "a garden hose."

Rad Reptiles and Awesome Amphibians

We hate to see kids at home on a school holiday bored or parked in front of the TV! That's why we designed some great school holiday programs for the upcoming cold winter. We hope we can entice you out of your winter den for Rad Reptiles and Awesome Amphibians, coming up Monday, January 19 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day). Join us and find out if a snake is actually slimy or if a toad has ears and learn more about our cold-blooded comrades as you head out on a fun scavenger hunt. We'll be welcoming ages 1 - 5 with an adult from 10 - 11 a.m., Grades K - 2 from 1 - 2 p.m., and Grades 3 - 5 from 3 - 4 p.m. You gotta sign up ahead of time and the fee is $5 per child. Hope to see you on MLK Day!