City Nature Challenge and FoCoMX

Posted on by Finn Smith in Adults, Ages 3-5, Ages 6-8, Ages 9-12, Any Age, FoCoMX, Front Page, Life Science, Music, News, Programs, Teens, Uncategorized

I know a lot of us are trying to decide how to spend our time this weekend. Do we get out in nature to capture observations for the City Nature Challenge (learn more about City Nature Challenge here)? Or do we engage in the time-honored tradition of wandering around Old Town Fort Collins catching random shows and discovering new local music (learn more about FoCoMX here)?

Good news: you don’t have to choose!

While meandering old town taking in shows, just keep an eye out for any bugs, critters, or wild plants that you could snap a picture of on your way to the next venue.

Some tips for urban nature observing:

  • Wild nature can be found anywhere, even in the middle of a city. Look for weeds pushing up through the cracks in a sidewalk, mosses growing on brick buildings, birds perching in landscaping trees, or pollinators visiting flower pots.
  • You may have heard that “Captive and cultivated” organisms (in other words, anything placed or being maintained by humans) don’t count for the City Nature Challenge, and that is true! However, they can still be useful.
    • “Captive and cultivated” organisms like landscaping plants can be uploaded to iNaturalist even though they won’t count toward the City Nature Challenge. In fact, it can be useful information for scientists. It can tell them what kinds of plants are attracting pollinators to an area, what kinds of planted trees may be propagating, etc. Just make sure you mark your observation as “Captive/Cultivated” so as not to confuse the data!
    • While “Captive and Cultivated” organisms don’t count toward the City Nature Challenge,
      organisms that they host do! Look for birds in branches, bugs on leaves, mushrooms or moss
      growing on bark — anything not intentionally placed or maintained by humans is considered
      wild.
  • Remember: the pictures you take for your observations don’t have to be pretty or perfect, they just have to be evidence of the presence of an organism.
    • While there are some incredible photographers on iNaturalist, it’s not a photography platform. The main purpose is to document wild nature where we live!
    • If you are running from one venue to another to catch the start of a set and can’t stop to do a full photoshoot for that grasshopper you spotted, that’s okay! Grab the best photo you can and keep running to make it to that show!

Get inspired for your FoCoMX City Nature Challenge adventure by checking out other observations that have been made in Old Town

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City Nature Challenge: How to Play!

Posted on by Finn Smith in Adults, Ages 3-5, Ages 6-8, Ages 9-12, Any Age, Front Page, Life Science, Programs

Become a Larimer County Naturalist!

The City Nature Challenge returns this April! Join a worldwide movement to document nature and help fight biodiversity loss! Every observation you make of WILD nature in Larimer County is a data point that helps scientists and researchers understand and protect nature for all.  

This post will tell you everything you need to know – from how-to-play to local City Nature Challenge events.

In short:

City Nature Challenge is a four-day event from April 24-27. Part friendly competition and part collaborative effort, cities all over the world vie to see who can get the most observations uploaded to iNaturalist in just one weekend. Anyone can participate by uploading observations of wild animals, bugs, fungus, or plants found in Larimer County!

See the bottom of this post for a list of local City Nature Challenge events.

In long:

What is City Nature Challenge?
The City Nature Challenge (CNC) is an annual four-day nature census in which participants
around the world use document nature in their neighborhoods. This data help scientists understand
and protect nature worldwide. Started in 2016 as a friendly competition between Los Angeles and San Francisco,
the CNC has grown into an international event. The goal is for cities to collaborate to find species, collect observations,
and connect communities to nature. The Community Science teams at the California Academy of
Sciences (CAS) and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM) make up the
Global Organizing Team.

What is iNaturalist?
iNaturalist is a platform that anyone can use. You can upload pictures or sound clips of species you’ve observed, then the iNaturalist community helps identify those species. Once an observation has been identified, it’s uploaded into databases that scientists use for biodiversity and other ecological studies. It’s a way we can all help contribute to better understanding our local ecosystem!

iNaturalist is the platform Larimer County will be using for our City Nature Challenge observations — any observations made to iNaturalist from within Larimer County during the challenge will automatically count toward Larimer County’s score! You can download the app for free or visit inaturalist.org to use the browser version.

How to Play

Participating in City Nature Challenge is as easy as 1-2-3!

  1. Observe
    From April 24 – 27, 2026, get outside and take photos or record sounds of nature where you live. Look for WILD plants, animals, fungi, etc. (“wild” means it was not put there by people and is not being taken care of by people.) Take a close look at the plants around you. Are there any insects or spiders on them? How many different types of birds can you find in your local park? Put on your nature eyes and see Larimer County in a whole new way!
  2. Upload
    Download the iNaturalist app or create an account on inaturalist.org, and upload your observations. Be sure to include a rough location and time of day.
  3. Identify
    From April 28-May 10 help identify observations that have been uploaded in the Larimer County City Nature Challenge project! Even if the best you can tell is whether it’s an animal or plant, everyone can help narrow IDs down and get us closer to a species ID!

Two Ways To Play:

  • Observer — Get outside anywhere within Larimer County from April 24-27 and make observations in nature. Upload your observations to iNaturalist to have them contribute toward the Larimer County City Nature Challenge AND contribute to ongoing biodiversity research!
  • Identifier — Keep an eye on the Larimer County City Nature Challenge project page on iNaturalist and help identify observations that are uploaded. You don’t need any prior knowledge or expertise to be an identifier; even narrowing an observation down to “animal” or “plant” helps!

Local City Nature Challenge Events

City Nature Challenge can be enjoyed on your own or with others. Here’s how you can participate:

City Nature Challenge Orientation Sessions – Hosted by Loveland Public Library and Loveland Open Lands and Trails 4/11 and 4/21
11:30-1:00 at the Gertrude Scott Meeting Room in Loveland Public Library, 300 N. Adams Ave, Loveland
The City Nature Challenge, April 24-27, is a friendly, global quest to see which city can document the most species in support of scientific research and biodiversity conservation. This is your chance to become a citizen scientist, let’s see what we can find!  

Come to this orientation session in advance of the event to learn more. Open Lands & Trails staff will first discuss how to use the iNaturalist app and make quality observations in the Gertrude Scott Room. Then we’ll head outdoors to the Civic Center Park to practice.
Registration Link

How to Use iNaturalist – Hosted by Larimer County Natural Resources 4/24
9-11am at the Larimer County Natural Resources Admin Offices, 1800 S County Rd 31, Loveland.
Using iNaturalist, participants will learn key features of plants and animals and contribute to the body of crowd-sourced scientific knowledge that is iNaturalist. All observations made in Larimer County will contribute towards the annual City Nature Challenge.
Registration Link

Bio Blitz — Hosted by Loveland Open Lands and Trails 4/24-4/27
From April 24-27, document as many wild species as possible using iNaturalist. Participate on your own or join OL&T staff and volunteers for assistance at selected Natural Areas. Check the Open Lands Calendar for details coming soon, on dates and locations to join Open Lands & Trails on-site. 

Pineridge Banding Station — Hosted by Bird Conservancy of the Rockies 4/25
7:30-8:30 or 8:30-9:30 at the Pineridge Natural Area Banding Station, 3502 CR 42C, Fort Collins
Migration is a magical time of year! Join us for a unique opportunity to experience science in action and observe a wildlife biologist banding and collecting important scientific data on live, migrating birds. The data collected gives us insight to many aspects of avian life history and can be used to inform conservation decisions. 

This program is provided at no cost to participants due to generous support from donors, but registration is required for all individuals and groups. Groups are limited to 15 people per one hour time slot.
Registration Link

City Nature Challenge ID Party! — Hosted by Fort Collins Museum of Discovery 5/2
2:00-4:00 at Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, 408 Mason Ct, Fort Collins
Now that City Nature Challenge is over, the real work begins. All of our amazing observations of local nature can only assist with biodiversity research once they’ve been identified! Join us at the museum to meet up with other City Nature Challenge Participants. You’ll learn a bit about how to ID observations in iNaturalist and do your part for ongoing biodiversity research!
No wildlife knowledge or expertise required.
Registration Link

City Nature Challenge ID Party! — Hosted by Loveland Public Library and Loveland Open Lands and Trails 5/2
12:00-2:00 at the Gertrude Scott Meeting Room in the Loveland Public Library, 300 N. Adams Ave, Loveland
Join other nature lovers for a fun ID Party to help correctly identify as many observations as possible. Instructions and snacks will be provided.  See the Library Calendar for details. 

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Hi-Five Tetris Lesson Plan

Posted on by Finn Smith in Ages 6-8, Ages 9-12, Any Age, Life Science, Physical Science, Skin: Living Armor

As we have worked on developing programming to help our visitors engage with our special exhibition, Skin: Living Armor, Evolving Identity, we have also adapted those programs into classroom-style lessons that classroom teachers, home school teachers, or any educator can use to expand their students’ learning before and after visiting the museum. 

In this lesson, we are getting curious about why and how our skin conducts electricity, and how it compares to other conductors. Your students will play a video game controlled by hi-fives, then test different conductors to make their own controller!

Use the links below to access the lesson plan and any accompanying files or printouts: 

Hi-Five Tetris Curriculum

Conductivity Worksheet 1 (Younger Students)

Conductivity Worksheet 2 (Older Students)

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A closeup detail of Georges Seurat's "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte". There is a gloved hand holding a laboratory micropipette superimposed over the image.

Pipette Pointillism Lesson Plan

Posted on by Finn Smith in Ages 6-8, Ages 9-12, Any Age, Life Science, Skin: Living Armor, Visual Arts

As we have worked on developing programming to help our visitors engage with our special exhibition, Skin: Living Armor, Evolving Identity, we have also adapted those programs into classroom-style lessons that classroom teachers, home school teachers, or any educator can use to expand their students’ learning before and after visiting the museum. 

In this lesson, we are getting curious about the tools biologists use when they study skin. Your students will learn how to use micropipettes by filling in a pointillist paint-by-numbers, dispensing one drop of paint into each square of a grid. This lesson also teaches about pointillism and its connections to microbiology: just as our bodies are made up of organs which are made up of tissues which are made up of cells which are made up of organelles, pointillist paintings invite you to look closer at the components making up each figure.

Use the links below to access the lesson plan and any accompanying files or printouts: 

Pipette Pointillism Curriculum

Pipette Pointillism Presentation

Micropipette User Guide

Pointillism Grid Seurat Numbers

Pointillism Grid Seurat Colors

Pointillism Grid Blank

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A no food or drink sign featuring an icon of a hamburger and drink which has been crossed out with a red circle and slash. A paper lizard has been colored to blend in with the top of the arc of the circle.

Camouflage Menagerie Lesson Plan

Posted on by Finn Smith in Ages 6-8, Ages 9-12, Any Age, Life Science, Skin: Living Armor

As we have worked on developing programming to help our visitors engage with our special exhibition, Skin: Living Armor, Evolving Identity, we have also adapted those programs into classroom-style lessons that classroom teachers, home school teachers, or any educator can use to expand their students’ learning before and after visiting the museum.

In this lesson, we are getting curious about how animals use their skin to avoid predators. Your students will explore the advantages and disadvantages of having skin that is designed to camouflage with a specific environment by coloring in paper animals and hiding them in plain sight around your space!

Use the links below to access the lesson plan and any accompanying files or printouts:

Camo Menagerie Curriculum

Camo Menagerie Templates

Hide and Seek Slideshow

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School Day Out on January 8th!

Posted on by Scott McKinney in Ages 6-8, Ages 9-12, Programs

On Monday, January 8th, FCMoD will host another School Day Out at the Museum. With PSD still out of school for one last day, we’re offering a full day of museum-based activities and fun.

This special daylong camp features animal encounters, music exploration and a movie in the Otterbox Digital Dome Theater. Groups are limited in number to create a unique and engaging experience.

The program runs 9am to 4pm and will be facilitated by our museum team professionals. Parents or guardians can drop kids off from 8:30-9am and pickup is from 4-4:30pm.

This program is designed for grades 1 through 5. Lunch and snacks will be provided but participants are welcome to bring their own food for those who choose or are seeking allergy-free options.

Registration is limited and required, so please CLICK HERE to reserve your spot.

Members enjoy a $10 discount on this program. Consider becoming a member today!

Keep an eye on this space for more full-day opportunities on April 19th and May 24th.

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Daily Discovery: Making History with Our Local Legends – Shrink Plastic Charm Bracelet

Posted on by Kristin Rush in Adults, Ages 6-8, Ages 9-12, Archive & Collections, Crafts, Daily Discovery, Discovery at Home, Local History, Social Studies, Teens, Visual Arts, Women's History

Post written by Linda Moore, Museum Curator of Collections.

Daily Discovery: Making History with Our Local Legends – Shrink Plastic Charm Bracelet

Wearing charms to commemorate or celebrate people, places, or events important to you has a long history: there is archaeological evidence that charm bracelets were worn as long ago as 600 to 400 BCE! Celebrate the stories that FCMoD is presenting of some of our distinguished local women this month by using the templates that will accompany each presentation to create a charming piece of jewelry that will remind you of them every time you wear it!

Supplies:

  • Shrink Plastic
  • Template to trace (example on right)
  • Permanent markers
  • Hole punch
  • Metal cookie sheet
  • Foil to line cookie sheet
  • Oven
  • Jewelry findings of your choice

Instructions:

  1. Print out your template; a 2.5 inch original will create a 1.25 inch charm.
  2. Place your shrink plastic over the template and trace in permanent marker.
  3. Let outline dry completely, then add color.
  4. Cut your charm out. Punch a hole at the top! This is essential for adding it to a bracelet.
  5. Following the guidelines for your specific shrink plastic, preheat your oven.
  6. Place your plastic on a foil-lined cookie sheet, and once your oven is at temperature bake it for the time suggested for your plastic –about 3 minutes, so stand by!
  7. There you go, a perfectly charming portrait to add to your bracelet.

This charm bracelet, in the collection of the National Museum of American History, commemorates the effort to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment with charms added for each state that successfully ratified the amendment.

Want to download these directions? Click here for a handy PDF!

Follow along with our Daily Discovery! Click here for all activities that you can do at home.

Educational opportunities like this are supported in part by Fort Fund.

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Daily Discovery: Optical Illusions & Color Vision

Posted on by Kristin Rush in Ages 6-8, Ages 9-12, Daily Discovery, Discovery at Home, Life Science

Post written by Hannah Curtis, Education Assistant.

Daily Discovery: Optical Illusions & Color Vision

Is your brain playing tricks on you? Optical Illusions can use color, light and patterns to create images that can be deceptive or misleading to our brains. The information gathered by the eye is processed by the brain, creating an interpretation or reality, and may not match the true image. Our brains are slow, well only by one-tenth of a second, but in that time it computes, translates, reacts and process information.

Perception refers to the interpretation of what we take in through our eyes. Optical illusions occur because our brain is trying to interpret what we see and make sense of the world around us. Optical illusions simply trick our brains into seeing things which may or may not be real.

See if your brain believes your eyes with some optical illusions below. Learn how they are perceived by your eyes and interpreted by your brain!

Face Recognition

From a young age, our brains are trained to recognize and remember faces. Infants smile and react when they see a face they recognize more than a strangers face. We are able to recognize friends and family in a crowded room, and identify the sex of an individual based on slight facial features. Our “face sense” ability relies on the neurons within the fusiform gyrus in the brain.  Injury to this area can cause face blindness which prevents an individual from recognizing close relatives, or even themselves in the mirror. Location of the Fusiform Gyrusin the Brain; Labroots.

Our brains are also tricked when two faces are displayed to us at the same time. Our eyes see two face shapes, but our brain struggles to perceive them separately and will morph them together. See for yourself with this celebrity face morph experiment.

Color Illusions

Our eyes do much more than observe our surroundings, they also allows us to see those surroundings in color! The photoreceptors, respond to light, dark and color wavelengths. The rods are sensitive to changes in light and dark environment and are used more often at night. Cones are sensitive to bright light color wavelengths and are used mainly during the day. There are three different types of cones which are receptive to red, green, and blue light. The colors we see are perceived when the cells within the cones fire together sending messages to the brain for interpretation.

Just like the muscles in our body, the cone receptors can become fatigued when you stare at a color for a long period of time. The cone becomes less sensitive to that color of light and when you look away other the colors opposite on the color wheel are what we briefly see.

On a contemporary color wheel, the colors opposite orange and green are red and blue, allowing you to see the flag in it’s red, white and blue fashion!

Follow along with our Daily Discovery! Click here for all activities that you can do at home.

Educational opportunities like this are supported in part by Fort Fund.

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Daily Discovery: Straw Rockets

Posted on by Kristin Rush in Ages 6-8, Ages 9-12, Daily Discovery, Discovery at Home, Engineering & Math, Experiments, Physical Science

Post written by Charlotte Conway, Public Programs Coordiantor. Activity adapted from NASA/JPL

Daily Discovery: Straw Rockets

Blasting off! Practice the engineering design process by creating your own soda straw rocket. Design, launch, and then modify features of your rocket just like engineers working on rockets today.

Rocket Design Background

Modern rocket design began near the beginning of the 20th century. While much has been learned and rockets have grown larger and more powerful, rocket designs are still improving. Engineers developing new rockets must control variables and consider failure points when improving rocket designs. By changing one variable at a time, engineers can determine if that change leads to an increase or decrease in performance.  They must also consider how their design might fail, and work to improve their design. These incremental changes allow engineers to improve rocket performance and increase the amount of mass they can lift into space.

Supplies:

  • Pencil
  • Scissors
  • Tape
  • Soda Straw (plastic or reusable)
  • Meter stick or meter measuring tape
  • Rocket template and data log (Printable PDF)

Instructions:

  1. Carefully cut out the large rectangle on the rocket template. This will be the body of the rocket. Wrap the rocket body around a pencil length-wise and tape it closed to form a tube.
  2. Carefully cut out the two fin units. Align the rectangle in the middle of the fin with the end of the rocket body, and tape it to the rocket body. Nothing should stick out past the bottom of the rocket body.
  3. Do the same thing for the other fin, but tape it on the other side of the pencil to make a “fin sandwich.”
  4. Bend the part of the fin that looks like a triangle 90 degrees so that each fin is at a right angle to its neighbor. Looking at the bottom of the rocket, the fins should look like a + .
  5. Twist and pinch the top of the rocket body around the tip of the pencil to create a “nose cone” for the rocket. Tape the nose cone to prevent air from escaping and to keep it from untwisting.
  6. Measure the cone from its base (right where it starts to narrow) to its tip, and record the length in your data log and the on the rocket itself. Once completed, it should be about 13 cm (or 5 in) tall.
  7. Remove the pencil and replace it with the soda straw.
  8. In your designated launch area, away from people and other hazards, blow into the straw to launch your rocket.
  9. Use a meter stick or measuring tape to measure the distance it travels. Record the distance of the launch in your data log.
  10. Now, try to improve your design! Make a new rocket by altering the template. Try different rocket lengths, fin shapes, or fin angles. Remember to only change one variable at a time to see how each rocket launch performs and compares to the original design. Repeat the steps above for every launch, record each design change, and rocket-flight distance in your data log.
  11. You can decorate your rocket for fun if you would like to as well!

Safety First: Launch in a place with a large open area. You may ask parent permission to move furniture to create space. Or, consider launching your rocket outside if that is an option for you.

 

Want to download these directions? Click here for a handy PDF!

Follow along with our Daily Discovery! Click here for all activities that you can do at home.

Educational opportunities like this are supported in part by Fort Fund.

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Daily Discovery: “Milky” – Way Nebulas

Posted on by Kristin Rush in Ages 3-5, Ages 6-8, Daily Discovery, Discovery at Home, Earth & Space Science

Post written by Hannah Curtis, Education Assistant.

Daily Discovery: “Milky” – Way Nebulas

NASA, with the help of the Hubble Space Telescope, capture the colorful and mysterious formations of nebulas. They are created from the gas and dust from supernovas or become star nurseries where new stars will be formed. With chemistry and experimentation create your own nebula, but they won’t take billions of years to form!

Supplies:

  • Paper plate or glass dish
  • 3 colors of food coloring
  • 1 cup of milk (preferably higher fat content)
  • 1 Tablespoon Dish soap
  • Q-tips

Instructions:

  1. Pour the milk into your plate or dish.
  2. Add as many droplets of food coloring as you want into each plate. Observe how the droplets don’t disperse and remain as individual droplets. The fat content in the milk creates a denser environment making it difficult for the color to move.
  3. Dip one end of the Q-tip into the dish soap and then into the center of the plate.
  4. Watch as your nebula begins to take form. Milk and dish soap cause a chemical reaction when they come together. The food coloring allows us to see this reaction more clearly! The molecules of in the dish soap and the fat molecules in the milk are attracted to each other and work hard to join together. The dish soap also breaks the surface tension allowing the food coloring to move freely.
  5. Use the Q-tip to swirl the colors to create beautiful, mesmerizing patterns. Expand by mixing different
    colors together. What happens if you use different dairy products all with different fat contents, will it produce different nebulas?
  6. Learn more cool facts and check out more nebulas from NASA.

Want to download these directions? Click here for a handy PDF!

Follow along with our Daily Discovery! Click here for all activities that you can do at home.

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