This week our family tried a really cool experiment, Fizzy Ice Chalk. It was a lot of fun and is the perfect outside activity in the heat! It is a take on the classic baking soda and vinegar experiment and can be made with a few simple household ingredients. Materials • ¼ cup cornstarch • […]
Category: Blog: Today in Nature
The main blog page for the Natural History Society of Maryland (NHSM); it includes posts about things individuals, families, and friends can do to learn more and experience nature.
Keeping Curious Young Minds Busy: Fizzy Ice
Collecting Tiny Moths for the Sake of Rare Plants
Last year, the Natural History Society of Maryland (NHSM) conducted a five-month field survey in Lake Roland Park (formerly Robert E. Lee Park). to determine the diversity of moths and butterflies within a rare serpentine barrens habitat that occurs on the north side of the Park as part of a larger restoration plan. Serpentine barrens […]
The Foraged Berries of June Series: How to Identify and Harvest Mulberries
The Foraged Berries of June Series: How to Identify and Harvest Mulberries This year, there is particular comfort in the markings of the seasons that have stayed the same. June is told by berries–mulberries, juneberries, wineberries, strawberries, blueberries. When you know how to look, you can see the abundance everywhere in Maryland– the city, suburbs, […]
Keeping Curious Young Minds Busy: Wormery
Keeping young minds and hands engaged during a pandemic is a challenge. I have 2 small children, ages 3 and 6. It is a daily struggle to not give in to all things digital. Sometimes the answers are right under your feet… My kids love earthworms and are fascinated by them. They are constantly turning […]
Violet simple syrup or not-so-simple syrup?
As seen on the Natural History Society of Maryland’s Facebook page on April 7, 2020, violets are a bloomin’ and this is a good time to forage for them. There is no time like a pandemic to try something new. I Googled ‘recipes for violets’ and one in particular caught my eye, a recipe for […]
Spring Means Morels
Nature’s grocery store is not open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. No, her hours and supply change with the seasons. But if you know where and when to go shopping, the rewards can be great, and it won’t break the bank. One of the most expensive food items in the world is […]
Spotted Salamanders in Maryland
Spotted salamanders are woodland creatures that live hidden under fallen logs, rocks or in abandoned tunnels under ground for most of the year.