There are a handful of live animals to see—turtles and the like—along with a bevy of stuffed and mounted animals in a diorama-like woodland scene. And strategically placed rocking chairs (both large and small for adults and children) allow visitors to cool their heels and watch the many birds than come to the center’s feeders. I could sit watching through the big picture windows for hours, but the boys never seem to want to let me sit still. But on one of our last visits, I saw a Baltimore oriole (my first, outside of the baseball team), which was quite amazing. A nice chart even shows what birds you’re likely to see which months of the year.

The center held a great daylong event, “Salute to Snakes,” in August, which my kids got a kick out of. They got to look at snakes, hold snakes, even hear a lecture about all the snakes that are native to Ohio. (Surprised that they sat through the almost-hourlong presentation, but they did well.)

Other favorite activities at the Rocky River Nature Center—for my boys, at least—are climbing in and around the plastic hollowed-out tree (complete with stuffed animals in various cubbyholes), pushing all the buttons on the 3-D relief map of the Rocky River watershed and looking in the gift shop.

Heck, even the walk to the nature center from the parking lot of a treat. A large swampy area with several overlooks is a great place to see turtles and frogs. Rare is the summer day that we DON’T see one or the other.

Check out the center when you’re on the west side; it’s just a few minutes from the bustle of Great Northern Mall, but it really does feel like a world away.

Sometime after college, my participation in astronomy-related events waned. I kept my telescopes, but they gathered a lot of dust in the garage and basement. Eventually, I donated my larger one to the Olmsted Falls high school science department.

But all along, I looked forward to the day when my kids were old enough to be interested in the nighttime sky. Josh has shown interest on and off over the years, and even though Matthew is a tad too young, he at least “gets it” when we look at the moon in our driveway once or twice per year.
Tonight, I took the boys to the CAA’s monthly open house/star party at Letha House Park, part of the Medina County Park District. While the park may seem to be way out of the way, that’s the point. A lot of what astronomy enthusiasts look at are faint galaxies, nebulas, star clusters, etc. And many of those objects—not to mention the beautiful summertime Milky Way—are drowned out by city lights. So the club began a relationship with this park more than 20 years ago, as its country outpost. About ten years ago, the long-held dream of building a small observatory building at the park became a reality.

The public “star parties” that CAA holds are basically evenings where many members bring out their instruments—refractors, reflectors, enormous binoculars, etc.—and share the views with the general public (many other clubs hold star parties, too). It’s a fun and educational experience. I used to love doing it years ago, to help educate the public. It’s interesting being on the other side of things now, bringing my own kids and letting them learn all the things I’ve forgotten about the constellations and the “faint fuzzies” up in the nighttime sky.

Tonight, we only saw a few things—the first quarter moon (at upper left in the top photo), Venus (barely visible at upper right in the top photo, see the arrow) and Saturn, really. The craters on the moon’s terminator (the line between night and day, where shadows are longest) were stunning, and Saturn’s rings and two of its moons were easily visible, especially in the largest scope. Then clouds quickly moved in and it was sprinkling, causing most everyone to pack up their expensive optics.

Many of the club members bring little stepstools, and/or they will rotate the eyepieces on their telescopes downward for kid-optimized viewing. It’s a really great experience for children; they get so much out of it, even if you only come for a quick half hour after darkness sets in. And who knows, you might light a spark in them that brings out a passion for science in school.

For a listing of upcoming CAA events, click here.

All the kids got free fishing rods, tackle boxes, bait, t-shirts, etc. Prizes were awarded for the first fish caught, the largest fish caught and the smallest fish caught. As luck would have it, a little boy right next to Josh—whose line was about 2 feet away from his—caught the first fish. But Josh did win one of the 15 door prizes, a nice collection of lures and an Applebees gift certificate, and he couldn’t have been happier.

The weather was less than ideal this year—temperatures hovered in the low 90s and there were only high, scattered clouds. And given that the derby itself started at 8:15 a.m. and ran for three hours, my little guy was over-broiled after a couple of hours. So we cheated and snuck out for 30 minutes for a milk run to McDonalds, enjoying the air conditioning the entire way (we’d run out of bait as it was).

Josh ended up catching just one little sunfish, but that was better than last year, when he didn’t catch a thing. It’s really surprising for my little fisherman, as he does a great job fishing the little 1/2-acre lake next to our home. I will say that the fish were biting a lot more this year and they cleaned up on stealing our worms without getting hooked. An enormous snapping turtle stole the show for a while in our section of the pond, attacking one unlucky fish and slowly feasting on it over the course of 20 or 30 minutes.

Thomas is a genuinely likable guy and walked the whole perimeter of the lake over the course of the event, visiting with the kids and the adults, signing autographs and having his picture taken. Just as at last year’s event, he was very approachable and took a real interest in helping the kids—and share his passion of fishing.

John “Big Dawg” Thompson, the Dog Pound superfan, was in attendance, roaming the shore wielding his enormous bone and wearing his #98 jersey along with dog mask and orange hard hat. We had a great chat (about snapping turtles, of all things!) and I give him credit for wearing that mask for the kids. As hot as I thought I was, I know it had to be about 120 degrees under that rubber getup!

The day ended with catering from sponsor Fahrenheit (delicious!) and the raffle of door prizes. All in all, I give Joe Thomas and the people at MAR Sports Marketing a lot of credit for this great family event. We can’t wait for next year!

July 17: ZooBlooms at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
July 17: 2nd Annual Joe Thomas Fishing Derby in Westlake
July 18: Family Fun Day at the Cuyahoga Valley National Park
July 23: Space Sleepover at the Great Lakes Science Center
July 24-25: Lake County Heritage Festival at the Lake County Historical Society
August 7: Cleveland Dragon Boat Festival in the Flats
August 9-15: Cuyahoga County Fair in Berea
August 12: Perseids Meteor Party 2010 at the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center
August 13-15: The 36th annual Corn Fest in North Ridgeville
August 14: Creature Comforts at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
August 23-29: Lorain County Fair in Wellington
September 4-6: Cleveland National Air Show at Burke Lakefront Airport
September 11: Discover the Cosmos at the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center
September 25: Teddy Bear Day at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
October 21-24 & 28-31: Boo at the Zoo at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo

What events are you and your family most looking forward to this summer? Let us know!

I took my older son to Cedar Point this evening, for a few hours of dad & son time, and as luck would have it, that coincided with the ridiculous LeBron James media circus/announcement show on ESPN. So glad I didn’t stay home to watch that ego-driven nonsense. I’m a lifelong, passionate Cleveland sports fan, but I became disenchanted with this whole thing weeks ago.

What really gets under my skin is that—I’m told—all the cable networks were showing replays of The Drive, The Fumble, etc., as though sports and sports alone define this city. They do not.

And that’s why I’m asking you to join me in this grass-roots effort to show the world what’s special about Clevelanders and our community.

I’m mad about what happened. But I refuse to channel all my energy into negativity. (Oh sure, I plan on having a backyard bonfire for s’mores and burning my Witness shirt this Saturday, but, hey, give a guy one release.) So, I hatched a plan on the way home from Sandusky. Let’s turn this negative into a positive for Cleveland and the surrounding communities.

Starting Friday, we have 23 calendar days in July. As we all get #23 out of our systems, let’s each pledge to do something for Northeast Ohio in those 23 days. I started tonight by giving $23 to the American Red Cross of Greater Cleveland. And I plan to take part of a day to volunteer, maybe at the Bishop Cosgrove Center downtown.

Will you join me in this movement? Please consider giving $23 or whatever you can to a worthy charity. Maybe Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cleveland. Or the United Way. Or Our Lady of the Wayside. Or Hospice of the Western Reserve.

Or volunteer your time to help our community. Maybe you’re more apt to volunteer to educate kids or pick up trash at the Cleveland Metroparks (they have a charitable arm, too, if you’d rather give cash). Or give some canned food (23 cans sounds like a nice, round number) to the wonderful, deserving Cleveland Food Bank.

What LeBron did was completely without class. I, for one, will do my part to show him that this community deserves better than what his values show. Please consider donating or volunteering in support of the “Cross out 23″ movement—and in support of your town. Whatever you choose to do, please leave a comment, to help inspire others. And if you have other volunteer opportunities or charitable suggestions, those are welcome, too.

Go Cleveland!

This event is very nicely done, and the two times we’ve been previously, the traffic has been crazy—prepare to park on the entrance road itself or in an overflow parking lot, unless you get there during a slow period. We lucked out this year and arrived about 2:30 (the event ran from 10-4), finding a great spot close in.

Most everything at Train Day is free, the only notable exceptions being food and drinks and a goofy little trainlike vehicle ride that costs $1.

We skipped the ride and went straight for the model railroad exhibits, which are located at several different places on the grounds of the park, as well as inside the visitor center. Wandering further afield, attendees can check out an entire (impressive!) Lego train exhibit, complete with skyscraper, hotel, church, airport and other city mainstays.

One of the most creative and different parts of this event is the hobo trail. Organizers set up signs with hobo signals along the meandering pathway from the visitor center to the canal. The challenge is to guess what the various graphics mean, and you can lift little placards to discover the answers. Along the pathway are volunteers dressed up as hobos, cooking stone soup, playing harmonicas, singing old railroading songs or just telling stories. Josh (9) was pleasantly surprised by this part of the event, and reported it to be his favorite part of the day. (He hadn’t remembered it from previous times, but he was a good bit younger then.)

So, you may read this and think, “Well, that’s all good, but now we have to wait until June 2011 for the next installment.” That’s true, but I’d still suggest a visit to the Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation. This small park, just NW of the intersection of I-480 and I-77, is fascinating. It’s a wooded oasis in the heart of Cleveland’s industrial valley, and it is easy to forget that you’re in the midst of a huge metropolitan area from some parts. From others, huge industrial buildings hulk in the distance, presenting an interesting juxtaposition.

The visitor center is beautifully done and gives a nice perspective on the valley, the canal, and the industrial workings of the area. Take the main path toward the canal, and you’ll encounter some great displays of objects that kids may not pay attention to—railroad crossing gates, electrical transformers, sewer pipes. Read about what they do and how they work and why they are a part of the fabric of the city. And then look up to see the same items in the distance in action. It’s really well done.

There is also fishing available near (or in?) the canal, but we didn’t investigate that. We hadn’t thought to bring any of our fishing gear—and it was a very hot, humid 86 degrees!