Family Fun on Tap as Montgomery College Helps “Celebrate Nature in our Community”
Montgomery College, in conjunction with the Montgomery County Beautification Association, will host “Spring Fling: Celebrating Nature in our Community” at Montgomery College on Saturday, March 3, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. A full range of family-friendly activities is slated, including hands-on learning exhibits, inflatable games, arts & crafts, tree giveaway, music, food and more.
The communitywide event is held annually to celebrate the many ways that nature and—specifically—trees, are terrific in all shapes and sizes, according to Linda O'Brien-Corbin, director of facilities at Montgomery College and co-coordinator of the event. A variety of community partners concerned with preservation of natural resources will feature educational exhibits. This includes the Texas Cooperative Extension, Fire Ant Management Program, Ground Water Management, Junior Master Gardener Program, and Montgomery County Master Gardener’s Tree Education Program and Tree Give Away sponsored by Texaco. Also present will be the Texas Forest Service (W.G. Jones State Forest presentation), the Humane Society of Montgomery County, and Texas Parks and Wildlife.
Youth and adult volunteers will offer school-age children a variety of environmental science-based activities, including: "critter" habitat exploration, a tree identification trail, birdhouse building, KIDzANTS gameboard, interactive cave, aquifer tour/presentation, recycled papermaking, tree necklaces, and free pictures with Smokey the Bear, Buzz the Bee, Sparky the Firedog, and Puffy the Pinecone.
Other activities include face painting, a petting zoo, dinosaur fossil dig, inflatable games, an old-time baseball exhibition, a “battle of the bands,” and more.
Some refreshments will be provided free for attendees, while other items will be available at low cost.
On display will be the 2007 National Arbor Day Poster Contest winners from local fifth grade students and prize drawings for the teachers with the most students participating. Prizes for teachers are sponsored by the Montgomery County Beautification Association.
Additionally, there will be an arts & crafts festival surrounding the 3-D art pavilion (behind Building D). Between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., a variety of arts and crafts, including ceramics, painting, printmaking, will be on display and for sale, and ceramic-making demonstrations will be featured. All exhibiting artists are current or former students of Montgomery College, and proceeds from the art sale benefit the student art organizations on campus.
Finally, the Montgomery College “Writers in Performance” series will offer a special panel discussion featuring local and regional authors. The panel discussion, which will begin at 10 a.m. in Building B, Room 102, will cover the unique environmental issues that face Texas.
“Spring Fling is a great way to spend your Saturday,” said Dr. Tom Butler, president of Montgomery College. “With such a variety of activities, there is something for everyone to enjoy. The main goal of Spring Fling is to give back to the community in both a fun and educational way.”
For more information or questions about Spring Fling, contact Linda O’Brien-Corbin at (936) 273-7312.
For more information about Montgomery College, visit montgomery.lonestar.edu, or call (936) 273-7000. Montgomery College is located at 3200 College Park Drive, approximately one-quarter mile west of I-45 between Conroe and The Woodlands.
NHMCCD, among the largest and fastest growing community colleges in Texas, comprise, Cy-Fair College, Kingwood College, Montgomery College, North Harris College, Tomball College, six satellite centers, and The University Center.