A classroom without walls: Triton 3 graders explore Potawatomi Wildlife Park

Third graders at Triton Elementary traded their classrooms for trails, ponds, and pavilions Monday, spending the day learning through hands-on experiences at Potawatomi Wildlife Park.

Students kayaked and canoed on Pond 5, used binoculars during a bird scavenger hunt, explored Indiana leaves and nuts, learned about pollination, met a local beekeeper, and participated in a wildlife recycling race.

At the leaf and nut station, students held chestnuts both inside and outside their spiky burrs while learning about the park's chestnut research station and its partnership with the Indiana chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation — giving students a chance to see that important conservation work is happening right in their own community.

At the pollinator station, students crafted pollinators with pipe-cleaner legs and moved them between "flowers" containing cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and powdered drink mixes. As the powders traveled from flower to flower, students saw firsthand how pollen transfers.

Students ended their day by writing a letter to a parent, teacher, or someone else in their life about what they saw, learned, and did.

"We want kids to do more than hear about nature in a classroom. We want them to experience it," said Park Manager Lacey Pfeiffer. "These kids are the next generation who will care for this land. We have to spark their interest now and inspire them to want to protect and care for it in the future."

In the past 10 months alone, more than 2,000 students have visited Potawatomi Wildlife Park for field trips and educational experiences. Each visit, park officials say, is an opportunity to plant a seed of curiosity and connect another child with the natural world.

Field trips are just one part of the work happening across the park's more than 300 acres. Potawatomi Wildlife Park also offers approximately five miles of trails, conservation projects, community events, and outdoor experiences for people of all ages — all while remaining free for the public to visit.

Continuing this work takes community support, and Potawatomi Wildlife Park will host its Annual Banquet & Trivia Night on October 10. Proceeds will support educational programming, conservation projects, community events, and the ongoing care of the park.

"This banquet is for everyone," Pfeiffer said. "You don't have to be a longtime supporter, a business owner, or someone who visits the park every week. We need our community to show up, buy a ticket, and be part of what makes this work possible. Every ticket matters."

Tickets are still available. Pfeiffer encouraged the community to attend, enjoy a meal and a night of trivia, and know that their ticket makes a difference locally.

A banquet ticket is about more than one evening of fun, she noted — it helps put a child in a kayak, binoculars in their hands, and a chestnut in their palm. It helps welcome the next classroom, care for the land, and create experiences that may inspire a child to care for the natural world for years to come.

Tickets can be purchased at https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/potawatomi-wildlife-park-annual-banquet-and-trivia-night.

Potawatomi Wildlife Park is located at 16998 State Road 331, Tippecanoe.