Lilly Center for Lakes and Streams

The Lilly Center for Lakes and Streams at Grace College in Winona Lake, Indiana, hosted an interactive learning experience for children and a nature hike for all ages this afternoon.

An 875-gallon hexagon aquarium in the lobby of the new Dane Miller Science Complex building houses local fish species. Other aquariums are set into the wall. 

Kosciusko County and the surrounding northern Indiana area has abundant lakes, rivers, and streams. Guarding the eco system and teaching the community how to preserve and wisely use these waterways is part of the mission of the Lilly Center. There are teaching opportunities in the local schools as well as outdoor fieldtrips in cleaning up litter and brambles and blockages in the local rivers and streams. 

Kosciusko County is the location of the north/south Continental Divide, with the north watershed eventually reaching the Great Lakes, St. Laurence seaway, and into the Atlantic while the south watershed flows primarily to the Wabash, Ohio River, Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. 

The children today colored outline pictures of fish. Once completed, the drawing was placed on a special platform that photographed it digitally and caused it to be projected in an underwater mural scene on a wall of the room.

 A sand table looked like a pile of sand until a computer program was projected on it and when the children scooped the sand deep enough "lakes" and "ponds" appeared around the contours.

A turtle was available to touch.

While the children were busy, my husband and I walked thru some of the science building. The Cooley Science Building has been merged with the new complex to appear as a seamless whole.

Dr. Dane Miller was a founder of Biomet, an orthopedic device developer and manufacturer. Biomet is now owned by a competing company Zimmer. The Millers created a foundation which has been very generous to Winona Lake and Grace College. Dr. Miller is now deceased, but the foundation which is run by his wife is still active. She was the one who chose to honor her husband by supplying the main financing of the new complex. 
The curved wall is actually a rain collection area, with a living roof of plants on top to percolate the water into storage rather than running off unused. The only green roof in this area.

The new building has been designed with seating for students to enjoy the view of the campus.

Dr. Nate Bosch, the director of the Lilly Center, led today's hike. The college is blessed with wooded acreage including wetlands which allow the students to have hands-on experiences. The trails we hiked have only recently been developed.

It was slightly chilly (high 40's) but mostly sunny. The group stopped at several locations to be given educational information about the woods and eventually the bog.

The young man in the Grace College tee shirt had picked up this chicken of the woods fungus as we were hiking. It grows on trees. It is edible. He was quite knowledgeable about fungi.

There were some inclines to access the trail, but otherwise pretty flat though one had to watch out for tree roots and step over fallen tree trunks.

Mostly golden yellow in these woods. We are expecting a mixture of rain/snow next weekend so I was glad to have this opportunity to explore nature in an area new to me before it gets too cold and nasty to be outside.