Discover Nature

6 Ideas for Family Fun

To find more events near you, call your regional office, or visit mdc.mo.gov and choose your region.

Deer Processing

Nov. 1 • Saturday • 10 a.m. Kansas City Region, Anita B. Gorman Discovery Center, 4750 Troost Ave., Kansas City, MO 64110 No registration required, call 816-759-7300 for more information • Ages 10 and older

Not sure how to prepare your deer? Join us at the Discovery Center to watch and participate in the processing of a field-dressed deer. Learn where different cuts of meat come from and how to extract those cuts. You will have the opportunity to grind, slice, and package the meat for preparation at home.

Duck Decoy Carving

Nov. 7–8 • Friday • 6–10 p.m. and Saturday • 8 a.m.–2 p.m. Southeast Region, Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center, 2289 County Park Drive, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701 Registration required, call 573-290-5218 Ages 8 and older, families

Make a beautiful cork decoy to use for waterfowl hunting or as unique art. Learn duck identification, duck ecology, and decoy history as you sculpt and paint your own decoy. Cost for materials is $15. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult.

Nature Center at Night: Who Goes There?

Nov. 13 • Thursday • 5–8 P.M. Southeast Region, Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center, 2289 County Park Drive, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701 No registration required, call 573-290-5218 for more information • All ages, families

Can you solve the animal mysteries? People often find evidence of animals but don’t get to see them up close. Drop by anytime between 5 and 8 p.m. to piece together clues and discover who lives at the nature center.

Basic Fire Starting and Camp-side Cooking

Friday • 5–8 P.M.Kansas City Region, Lake City Range, 28505 E. Truman Road, Landahl Park, Buckner, MO 64016 Registration required, call 816-249-3194 All ages, families

Come join our staff in a fun-filled camping adventure! Learn multiple techniques in fire starting and how to safely set up your fire circle. Once our fires are started, we will prepare and cook some delicious camp food and share stories.

Family Treasure Hunting

Nov. 22 • Saturday • 1–3:30 p.m. Southeast Region, Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center, 2289 County Park Drive, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701 No registration required, call 573-290-5218 for more information Ages 8 and older, families

Parents, grandparents, and adult mentors, bring your youngster(s) to learn a new outdoor  skill. Geocaching is an outdoor “treasure” hunt using GPS units. We’ll cover basic GPS use and then hit the trails. Dress for the weather. GPS units provided.

Discover Nature: Nature’s Ornaments

Nov. 29 • Saturday • 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Ozark Region, Twin Pines Conservation Education Center, RT 1 Box 1998, Winona, MO 65588 Registration required, call 573-325-1381 Ages 12 and older

This year for the holidays, go native in your decorating with our Nature’s Ornaments program. We’ll be gathering up the fall bounty of pinecones, acorns, and anything else that would set off the holiday spirit for your home. Then we will return to our classroom to arrange our finds into something you’ll be happy to display.

Discover Nature Photo Contest

Show the world your idea of discovering nature in Missouri. Using your Google+, Instagram, or Twitter account, tag your Missouri nature photos with “#MDCdiscovernature.” Your photos will appear on our website at mdc.mo.gov/node/26255, where you can also read the contest rules.

Every month, Department staff will select and post a winning photo. Please note that the contest ends Nov. 15 at 5 p.m. CST. We’ll publish all of the monthly winners in the January 2015 issue of the Conservationist.