GUS Hosts 3rd Annual Nature Fair

Children and parents - upwards of 250 in all - delighted in tracking animal footprints, learning to make fire, building catapults, shooting bows and arrows, investigating the school’s nature trail, and making fairy houses during the third annual GUS Nature Fair on November 3.

Guests also had the opportunity to mix bug repellents from essential oils, create seaweed prints, pet farm animals, touch sea creatures in a tank, and go ponding with nets, clear plastic tubs and magnifying glasses to find little creatures and organisms to observe.

Is this any way to run an Open House?

You bet it is!

The brainchild of Director of Admission Kristie Gonzalez, the Nature Fair aims to take the place of traditional open houses and to engage families in the type of learning that GUS students experience every day. “People get to see how differently we use our campus from other schools,” she explains. “Traditional open houses on the weekend don’t help us anymore and can be really boring,” explains Kristie. “What makes GUS special is the way we teach. We are not asking teachers to come up with something new to demonstrate but rather to pull something from their curriculum to share with visitors. Watching our teachers engaged with students and seeing how they teach is with educational and environmental issues , such as Salem Soundwatch, Kestrel Adventures, Change is Simple, Cuvilly Earth Center, Mini Movers, North Shore Nursery School, Ipswich Wildlife Sanctuary PreSchool, Appleton Farms, and Essex Shipbuilding.

Amy Crafton, a GUS parent who also does marketing, outreach and fundraising for

“ A T N A T U R E F A I R , V I S I T O R S G E T T O R E A L L Y S E E H O W O U R S C H O O L O P E R A T E S A N D T O I N T E R A C T W I T H THE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS.”

so compelling. At Nature Fair, visitors get to really see how our school operates and to interact with the different programs.”

Kristie seeks partners in the community, nonprofits involved Nature Fair partner Change is Simple, sees the joint effort as a good match. “Change is Simple teaches kids about sustainability and the way they can take action to make positive changes to the planet. We

bring tools into the classroom, and the students become the scientists and engineers. This is so similar to the way GUS teaches all the time.” This year, Change is Simple brought a Jeopardy game with questions about sustainability that made kids think about the issues; and a worm station that illustrated why soil is so important. “The older kids were interested in the game,” says Amy, “and the little kids liked to play in the soil!”

“ K E E P I N G C U R I O S I T Y A L I V E I S P A R T O F T H E G U S M I S S I O N A N D T H A T C O M E S THROUGH WITH THE FAIR.”

“It was fun as a parent too,” Amy recalls, noting watching her children happily hammering nails into wood. “Parents feel great about outdoor time and kids learning things. It was a great, funfilled event that appealed to a wide range of ages. Keeping curiosity alive is part of the GUS mission and that comes through with the fair.”

Kristie concurs. “The event really brings the community together. It’s just as much for our own families as for local families in the area.” During a similar evening ‘Winterfest’ in January, visitors roasted marshmallows and engaged in group problem solving and challenges. Unfortunately, the weather did not allow for the use of the outdoor ice rink built last year by students in X Block. As with the fall Nature Fair, the winter event was an opportunity for visitors to engage in the kind of learning that goes on every day at GUS.

Learn more: gus.org/naturefair