Date: January 16, 2013
Contact: Ryan Koepke, 219-395-1882
The following programs are being offered at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore this winter. Please see the individual program descriptions listed below. For more information on any of the programs at the national lakeshore, contact Ryan Koepke at 219-395-1882 or check the park's website at www.nps.gov/indu. All programs are free.
Program Announcement #1
Release Date: January 16, 2013
Contact: Ryan Koepke, ryan_koepke@nps.gov, 219-395-1882
Martin Luther King Holiday Celebration at National Lakeshore
Celebrate and honor the service and commitment of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore's Paul H. Douglas Center on Saturday, January 19 from 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm. A variety of hands-on activities, service opportunities, and exhibits will be available throughout the afternoon.
At 2:00 pm, join park ranger Cliff Goins as he leads an armchair tour of National Park Service sites that celebrate the civil rights movement. These include the Chicago Portage Naval Magazine National Memorial, the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail, and the Tuskegee Airmen, Brown vs. Board of Education, and Central High School National Historic Sites.
In the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., take part in a stewardship activity during the afternoon. Choose between an indoor activity of preparing seeds for spring planting or an outdoor activity of cutting invasive honeysuckle near the center. As always, visitors can make a free craft, enjoy the hands-on exhibits or help feed the Douglas Center's resident reptiles and fish.
From January 19 through February 28, the Douglas Center will also feature exhibits from a variety of National Park Service sites that honor the civil rights movement. The center is located at 100 North Lake Street in the Miller section of Gary. For more information on this or other programs at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, call the center's information desk at 219-395-1821 or check the park website at www.nps.gov/indu/planyourvisit.
Program Announcement #2
Release Date: January 16, 2013
Contact: Ryan Koepke, ryan_koepke@nps.gov, 219-395-1882
Douglas Center Open House at National Lakeshore
Escape "cabin fever" and join a ranger for an Open House every Saturday afternoon at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore's Douglas Center. Explore the center from 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm and check out interactive exhibits, a video, and even a live animal room. If you don't mind the cold and there is enough snow, borrow a pair of cross-country skis or snowshoes and explore the Miller Woods Trail just outside the center.
The Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education is located at 100 North Lake Street in the Miller section of Gary. For more information on this or other programs at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, call 219-395-1882 or check the park's website at www.nps.gov/indu.
Program Announcement #3
Release Date: January 16, 2013
Contact: Ryan Koepke, ryan_koepke@nps.gov, 219-395-1882
Kid's Rule at National Lakeshore Visitor Center
Tired of your children doing the same thing every weekend? Bring them out to the national lakeshore's visitor center for an afternoon of fun kid's activities every Sunday afternoon. Join a national park ranger between 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm in the activity room to help your children learn more about your neighborhood national park. All children must be accompanied by an adult.
The Indiana Dunes Visitor Center is located at 1215 N. State Road 49 just south of the intersection of 49 and U.S. 20 in Porter, Indiana. For more information about this program or other activities at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, contact the information desk at 219-395-1882 or check the park's website at www.nps.gov/indu.
Program Announcement #4
Release Date: January 18, 2013
Contact: Ryan Koepke, ryan_koepke@nps.gov, 219-395-1882
Snowshoe Hike at National Lakeshore
Join a ranger for a winter adventure on snowshoes at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. This program will be offered on both January 26 and February 9 from 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm. Meet at the Bailly/Chellberg contact station for a quick lesson on using snowshoes. Then take a hike to enjoy the beauty of winter and learn more about the adaptations that Duneland creatures make to survive this unforgiving season. If there is less than two inches of snow, a hike will be offered instead.
The Bailly/Chellberg parking lot is located on Mineral Springs Road between Highway 20 and Highway 12 in the central portion of the national lakeshore. For more information about this program or other activities at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, contact the information desk at 219-395-1882 or check the park's website at www.nps.gov/indu.
Program Announcement #5
Release Date: January 16, 2013
Contact: Ryan Koepke, ryan_koepke@nps.gov, 219-395-1882
Music Heritage Series at National Lakeshore
Tune up your vocal cords for a sing-along and gather up with Save the Tunes Council for a monthly celebration of traditional American music. This program is offered on January 18, February 15 and March 15, from 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Visitor Center.
The Save the Tunes Council is a group of local musicians devoted to preserving and passing on folk songs in the traditional way, using a variety of musical instruments including guitar, autoharp, dulcimer, banjo, harmonica, bagpipe, penny whistle, hurdy gurdy, and other obscure instruments.
Meet at the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center located at 1215 N. State Road 49 just south of the intersection of 49 and U.S. 20 in Porter, Indiana. For more information about this program or other activities at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, contact the information desk at 219-395-1882 or check the park's website at www.nps.gov/indu.
Program Announcement #6
Release Date: January 16, 2013
Contact: Ryan Koepke, ryan_koepke@nps.gov, 219-395-1882
Stewardship Day at National Lakeshore
It's almost Maple Sugar Time at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Help "wake up the sugar bush" in preparation for this annual event at the Chellberg Farm on February 16, from 9:00 am to noon. Lend a hand with cleaning the sugar shack, tapping the trees or hanging buckets to collect the sweet maple sap. Meet at the Chellberg Farm parking lot. Work gloves and equipment will be provided.
The Chellberg Farm parking lot is located on Mineral Springs Road between U.S. 20 and Highway 12 in the central portion of the national lakeshore. For more information on this or other programs at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, visit the park website at www.nps.gov/indu or contact the park's information desk at 219-395-1882.
Program Announcement #7
Release Date: January 16, 2013
Contact: Ryan Koepke, ryan_koepke@nps.gov, 219-395-1882
Sweet Sign of Spring - Maple Sugar Time at National Lakeshore
Enjoy a sweet taste of spring at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore's annual Maple Sugar Time program. Join National Park Service rangers and volunteers at the historic Chellberg Farm from 10:00 am-4:00 pm on the weekends of March 2 & 3 and March 9 & 10, for this fun and educational event marking the unofficial start of spring.
Stop by the farm and take a self-guided tour to learn how maple tree sap has been used for hundreds of years. Park staff and volunteers will be available to demonstrate how American Indians boiled maple sap into sugar and how Euro-American settlers used large iron kettles to make the sap into syrup. Then, stand in the warm steam of the sugar shack where sap is still boiled down the way the Chellbergs did in the 1930s.
Try your hand at drilling a tap hole or at using an old-fashioned yolk to carry heavy sap buckets. You can even enjoy a free taste of pure maple syrup and compare it to "artificially flavored" syrup. Admission for all activities is free. Pure maple syrup and related products will be for sale on site.
Maple Sugar Time takes place at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore's Chellberg Farm on Mineral Springs Road between U.S. 20 and Highway 12 in the central portion of the national lakeshore.
www.nps.gov.
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is part of the National Park System. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 398 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.
