On February 27, participants of Nature Storytime were literally treated to a fun morning of experiences at Interstate Park. This week involved the children and their parents learning all about maple syrup. They read books about making maple syrup with helper Carol S. Additionally, Doug Scharfenberg cooked up delicious pancakes with real maple syrup! The fun did not stop there, as special guest Kevin Slattengren, the owner of Slattengren Farms, helped everyone learn how to identify maple trees in the spring. He also brought with the special tools and equipment used to tap maple trees and to collect the tree sap that eventually becomes maple syrup! Children watched as sap flowed into the collection bucket and they even got to taste the fresh sap. Even though the fresh sap wasn’t as sweet as the final syrup, it was a fun learning experience for all the participants.
Tapping a Sugar Maple
Children learning about tapping sugar maple trees, the first step in making maple syrup.
Flowing Sap
Watching sap flow out of a newly tapped maple tree.
Enjoying Maple Syrup
Participants get to taste maple syrup on fresh pancakes.
Taping Trees
Learning how to identify sugar maples in the early spring and seeing some of the special equipment needed to collect sap.
Preparing to Tap
A small hole in the trunk of the tree is needed to collect sap for making maple syrup.