Teen Adventure at Muscoot Farm

MOOOOOOOO! COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO!!! These were the sounds that filled the air last Saturday at Muscoot farm in Valhalla. Teen adventurers traveled to the working farm for a picnic lunch, a nature walk and some time to get up close and personal with some of the farm animals.

The adventurers arrived at the farm by 1pm and settled down for a packed lunch. There was a chill in the air but good company warmed us up. After lunch the teens strolled around the farm and saw all the animals including a row of gorgeous cows, sheep, chickens, roosters and two very lively horses. The crowd favorite was the huge pigs and their little piglets. Before our nature hike we passed by two donkeys that gave us an enthusiastic EEEEEE-AAAAAA and we were off on the trail!

The crew took a 35 minute walk over rolling hills. Our destination was a gazebo perched on a hill top. To our left a view of the beautiful fall foliage and to our right a gently sloping pasture filled with sparrows darting this way and that. We descended down the finely manicured path to the base of the pasture to take in one last look before heading back to the farm.

The teens took one more look at their favorite animals (the piglets) and then up to the picnic area for a well deserved snack. Then it was back on the bus and back to Mamaroneck with another adventure in the books.

STEM FAIR

The teen adventurers had a small sojourn this past Saturday. Just a hop, skip and a jump away from the South East Consortium offices the Hommocks School was holding their 2nd annual STEM Alliance Fair. With a picnic lunch behind us and an adventure ahead  the teens piled into the SEC bus and headed over to the familiar stomping grounds.

STEM (Science. Technology. Environment. Math) is a grassroots organization working out of communities throughout the nation with the goal of inspiring young people to innovate, initiate and imagine through science and technology. One of the many programs the STEM Alliance offers are community fairs where demonstrations are held, students present science projects, classes are offered and fun is always had.

More than just your run of the mill “science fair” the STEM fair is more of a festival, a celebration of science and innovation for young people. Saturday’s event saw architecture, physics, fire trucks and operational hoses, a green house, robots, cannons, an a real life astronaut, hover boards and much much more! Best of all was this was all accessible and hands on for children and the kids in all of us.

Amare Stephens had a captivated crowd as he built an impressive tower of thin blocks over 8 feet high. Natalie, Ryan and Lukas took a spin on a hover craft while Alec inspected to the two fire engines parked outside. Liam and Rafael took turn on a fire hose blasting some water into the parking lot.

The fun and learning was not just contained to the first floor of the school. The group ventured upstairs to see what the library had to offer. There the teens found a hover craft building station where they were instructed to build a structure that would float in an air vent. Ryan was thrilled when his craft was successful.

Amare and Lukas hunkered down across the library and got hard at work on their robotics. Participants were instructed to build a miniature Ferris wheel via tablet consisting of gears and rods. No easy task! But our teen adventurers were successful and we had a working Ferris wheel for our Lego riders in no time.

It was a day of problem solving, learning and fun! Our teens are looking forward to their final adventure for the spring season next month!

Teen Adventure at the Bronx Zoo

Lions, Tigers and Bears! Oh my! Perfect weather and perfect company make for a great day at the Bronx zoo. The teen adventure crew loaded up on the bus and drove off to the heart of the Bronx to see one of the best zoos on earth.

The young adventurers gathered at the South East Consortium offices for a picnic on the front lawn overlooking the Long Island Sound before they set off on their trip. Some lazed on the picnic blanket, others sat at the picnic table while other put their feet up on the bench. All in attendance soaked in some sun and enjoyed the company.

The zoo was alive and buzzing with activity. First stop: the seals. On the first hot day of the spring we could not help but be a little jealous of these playful aquatic mammals chasing each other through their watery world. The crowd of people surrounding the seal enclosure were not short of ohhhhs and awwwees as a new addition to the seal family glided effortlessly alongside the older members of his pod.

Next up were the piere david deer who were also enjoy some water fun albeit much muddier. The deer  were very active and close up as they wallowed in the shady shallow waters. Several stags were working on shedding their winter antlers by rubbing against trees.

The mid-day sun proved too much for the tigers. The extent of their activity was swatting their tails as they lay snoozing under a tree. Regardless there is not much more impressive in the animal kingdom then the exquisite Bengal tiger. Weighing up to 500 lbs. this apex predator can run up to 35 miles per hour and eat 60 lbs of meat in one night.  We were glad to be on the other side of the fence. With only 2,500 of these gorgeous animals left in the wild it is always an honor to see one (even if its just catching some zzz’s.)

The Grizzly bears were the main event of the day. These ferocious animals were very active enjoying their mountain top enclosure. The four bears were running, swimming and even wrestling each other on their hind legs to the cheers of the crowd watching.

With all the excitement the adventurers need a water break themselves so we headed to Africa for some shade, some water and a view of the plains replete with lions, thompsons gazelles and some peacocks who did not care for fences and walked right across our paths.

It was a great day; good exercise, perfect weather, awesome animals and good friends. The teen adventurers waved goodbye to this sprawling gem of conservation and education in the Bronx and are already looking forward to their next adventure together.

Teen Adventure Planetarium Extravaganza

Space the final frontier. Last Saturday SEC star-gazers traveled to the Hudson River Museum to get a better glimpse at the infinite expanse that surrounds our planet.

The Hudson River Museum in Yonkers NY is home to the historic Glenview Mansion featuring six distinct period rooms, the newly revamped and now state of the art planetarium and a permanent exhibition on the Hudson River’s history, geology and bio-diversity.

The planetarium show “Our sky tonight” was our final destination on Saturday. Adventurers sat back, relaxed and stared up into the night sky. We watched as the sun took its course across the sky on a late fall day and the stars slowly appear.

Our moderator showed where we lie in the solar system in relation to our other neighboring planet. Then finally we left planet earth completely to see our galaxy (the Milky Way) in its totality.

Seeing the night’s sky from an outer space perspective can you make you feel small and insignificant but simultaneously brings us together by making you realize how close we really are.

“Things are impossible until they’re not” – Captain Jean Luc Picard: Star Trek The Next Generation

A Spooky Saturday in Sleepy Hollow

The teens piled into the South East bus and made their way to the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery last Saturday afternoon. The fall foliage was in full force as the teen adventures made their way to the historic cemetery nestled snugly against the banks of the Hudson River. With our walking shoes on and the sun shining overhead we set out into the vast and rolling hills of the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.

Our tour guide told us fascinating tales of notable people interred at the cemetery like Washington Irving, author of the immortal tale of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman. We were dazzled by hidden histories of many tombs and monuments. The tour was also a hands on experience allowing the teens to get up close and peer through tomb windows placed in their heavy slab of granite entrances.

Our brave collection of friends even had the guts to enter an old “receiving vault;” a structure that’s purpose was to store the recently deceased in the cold winter months when the ground was too frozen to dig a grave. Once spring had arrived and the ground soft, then the bodies were removed from the receiving vault and laid to rest. Spooky!

As we were exiting the cemetery already thoroughly spooked we heard a faint neigh in the distance and the clip clop clip clop of hooves. As we turned, hair standing on end, we saw coming our way the Headless Horsemen himself!

But not to fear this must have been the Headless Horsemen’s friendlier cousin. Instead of taking our heads he let us take pictures with him instead.

Getting scared can really build up an appetite! The teen adventurers found a local park, settled down, and ate a lunch in the company of good friends with good tunes supplied by a nearby street fair.  All in all a great day especially since we all made it back with our heads!

Teen Adventure!

Old MacDonald had a farm. And on that farm he had a group of teens! This past Saturday the South East Consortium Teen Adventure group journeyed to Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture.

Stone Barns is a working farm, greenhouse, world class restaurant and is home to many animals including amber laying hens, honeybees, some rowdy pigs, some mean looking geese, plus many more.

After lunch under some large maple trees the group started exploring the grounds. It was a perfect day for a ramble through the fields and a gander at some naying , snorting, clucking and baying farm animals.

The teens got up close to some new born lambs but not close enough to touch. The lambs were protected by some impressive (and rather intimidating) Great Pyrenees’. The four-legged guardians are raised with the flock so they identify with the sheep as family. Just another part of the farm life.

On the grounds was a large green house with a retractable roof. Inside the greenhouse the crew got to see where the vegetables on their plates at night come from. The seemingly endless rows of cabbage, mustard, lettuce, cilantro and chard made you feel healthier by just looking at it!

The teens were able to do a little creative farm engineering when they grabbed some markers and construction paper to create their own vegetable-fruit creation. We saw an apple carrot and a strawberry plum. The delicious day dreamed dishes were pinned up by a farm staff member for all to see.

What is a trip to a farm without a hike around the grounds? The teens tied their boots up tight and dug into the shaded winding trail. The route took us past idyllic streams and a two grazing fields where we saw cows and a majestic horse. We finished our trip with a light snack and some water.

We were one exhausted group when we plopped into our seats for the bus ride home. Sunshine, friends, exercise and nature, what better way to spend a Saturday?

Teen Adventure's Trip To Norwalk Maritime Aquarium

Last Saturday South East Consortium took a glimpse under the sea at the Norwalk Maritime Aquarium. The Teen Adventure group learned about the importance of conservation, the feeding habits of marine life and experienced the beauty and wonder of our finned friends.

The aquarium, situated in the Norwalk Harbor in Norwalk Connecticut, features marine life commonly found in the nearby Long Island Sound and along the eastern seaboard as well as tropical fish and even meer cats!

Our adventurers arrived just in time to see the seal feeding. The seals performed trick after trick for a fishy reward. Trainers informed us about the importance of seal training as it helps keep the mammals fit both physically and mentally. Training also helps move the seals in emergency situations such as a power failure.

The shark tank was the next stop on our aquatic adventure. This feeding was far more hair-raising as divers entered the shark tank to feed the silent sentinels of the sea with a pole. Aquarium staff assured us no harm has ever come to any divers while feeding the sharks. Even so we prefer the dry side of glass!

The “touch tank” was the last stop on our trip. The touch tank allows visitors to gently touch sting rays and nurse sharks (both harmless.) Our adventurers had a great time feeling the soft, smooth backs of the rays and the rough, sand paper scales of the nurse sharks as they sailed by.

As our adventurers loaded up on the bus to return home we looked out at the Long Island Sound to a whole watery world waiting to be discovered!