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

Continue Reading

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. 

Continue Reading

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)

Continue Reading
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

Continue Reading
A person is looking through the eyepiece of a microscope at a paper they are drawing on.

Micro Drawing Lesson Plan

Posted on by Finn Smith in 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 a microscope to make a tiny piece of art, then create a tiny class gallery!

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

MicroDrawing Curriculum

Microscopy Intro Handout

Microscopy Intro Slides

Micro Gallery Frame

Continue Reading
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

Continue Reading

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.

Continue Reading

School Day Out Workshops

Posted on by Bryan Simpson in Ages 9-12, Experiments, Physical Science, Teens

School Day Out at the Museum! Join us on October 20th and again on November 10th for a series of fun, interactive engineering-based workshops for kids ages 8 and up. Each group will be led by CSU College of Engineering students and will focus on creative problem-solving for some of today’s most fascinating challenges.

 

Participants will discover solutions to engineering challenges by exploring five disciplines: mechanical, electrical, civil, biomedical, and chemical engineering through hands-on activities designed to simulate a collaborative lab environment and spark their imaginations.

 

The groups are limited to 15 people per each 90-minute session. Registration is required and can be accessed HERE

 

October 20

12:00-1:30 Chemical Engineering – Discover the best way to make slime

1:30-3:00 Biomedical Engineering – Build lower limb prosthetics

3:00-4:30 Civil Engineering – Fabricate spaghetti bridges

 

November 10

12:00-1:30 Electrical Engineering – Design and build saltwater circuits

1:30-3:00 Mechanical Engineering – Create “Mars Rover Egg Landers”

 

This is a great opportunity for another adventure in Discovery!

Continue Reading

Animal Love Languages

Posted on by Kristin Rush in Adults, Ages 9-12, Animal Encounters, Discovery at Home, Featured Exhibits, Life Science, Teens

Animal Love Languages

Love is in the air, and humans aren’t the only romantics in the world. Today we’re looking at the courtship rituals of the animal kingdom!

Do you know what your love language is? Is it words of affirmation like a sweet letter, quality time like a romantic night in, receiving gifts of flowers and jewelry, acts of service, or physical touch like a hug or a cuddle? Humans have different ways of showing affection, and so do animals. But instead of things like poetry, romantic getaways, and chocolates, animals have their own unique love languages. Which animal love language do you relate the most with?

The Singer
Much like the romantic poet, some animals like to shout their love from the rooftops. Frogs, birds, crickets, and even whales use their songs to attract mates, constantly trying to out-do their competition with the loudest and most attractive voice. Frogs even have regional dialects – members of the same species may have different croaks if they have originated from different places where their local songs are slightly different. And in places where there are several different species of frogs all singing at once – like in Florida, where the invasive Cuban tree frog has been introduced into the territory of native American green tree frogs – the frogs will purposefully alter their croaks to differentiate between species and avoid confusion.

The Dancer
But maybe you’re more of a visual person. There are plenty of animals whose main courtship rituals involve elaborate dances and displays of beautiful fur and feathers. But some animals forget the flashy outfits and just focus on their moves. Hirtodrosophila mycetophaga is a species of australian fly which performs mating displays on shelf mushrooms. The males wave their wings around and perform a dance – but only on lighter-colored fungi, as these mushrooms act as a better backdrop for their performances. On darker fungi, they blend in too well, and females pass them by!

The Show-off
Not to be outdone, some animals go all in, with song, dance and color! Take the peacock spider: while you may be familiar with this small jumping spider’s namesake and its colorful plumage, this arachnid goes a step further and incorporates sound and movement into its mating display.

While displaying their brightly-colored abdomen, they wave their legs in an elaborate dance and create deep rumbling vibrations while they perform. The males who put the most effort into their displays, including both the dancing and vibrating, are more likely to get the girl.

The Collector
Some animals speak the love language of gift-giving. Native to New Guinea and Australia, bowerbirds build elaborate ‘bowers’ from nature to attract mates. First, the male Bowerbird gathers sticks and arranges them into an upright structure, often in the shape of an arch or an avenue. Then, he populates his bower with brightly-colored objects. These can be shells, flowers, even pieces of plastic and metal that he finds. Some bowerbirds even have favorite colors, and will collect only pieces that fit into their preferred color scheme! When she’s ready to find a mate, the female bowerbird tours the bowers of all the local males, and chooses the bird with the best crib to be her mate.

The True Romantic
But maybe you’re a real classical romantic. You want long walks on the beach, hand-holding, and slow-dancing. Don’t worry. Not everything is about flashy displays. Some animals like to take it slow, and build up deep bonds with their mates. Seahorses have an elaborate courtship process, with each step of the ritual being repeated again and again, often over the course of days. First, they meet and change colors, brightening in turns at each other. Then they grab hold of the same anchor-point and spin around each other in an elaborate dance with many distinct moves and steps, including leaning away, pointing, quivering and spinning. Finally, they end their dance by floating up through the water column together. While they might only be fish, seahorses are quite the romantics – they mate for life, and their specialized tails, used to anchor themselves to coral and seaweed, also allow them to “hold hands” with their significant other.

Happy Valentine’s Day from all of us at FCMoD!

Post written by Willow Sedam, Live Animal Husbandry Team Member

Continue Reading

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.

Continue Reading