Children can look for wildlife during the annual Science Day at UC's Center for Field Studies.

UC's field center turns 10

Enjoy nature with your family with Science Day at UC's Center for Field Studies, a living laboratory at the edge of Miami Whitewater Forest.

Photos by Jessica Wiles/UC

July 26, 2018

Get back to nature with your family at Science Day at the University of Cincinnati’s Center for Field Studies.

UC’s McMicken College of Arts and Sciences is hosting its third-annual Science Day on Saturday, Aug. 18, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a program of nature walks and talks at the sprawling research center (11053 Oxford Road in Harrison) at the edge of Miami Whitewater Forest.

This year’s program offers bug walks, creek walks, live animal presentations, a fossil dig and other fun activities designed to give children an appreciation for the natural world.

Admission is $5 for adults. Children 12 and under are free. Tickets are available here and include lunch provided by Velvet Smoke BBQ.

This year’s Science Day celebrates the 10th anniversary of UC’s Center for Field Studies, a 17-acre living laboratory at the edge of Ohio’s Miami Whitewater Forest where students study a diversity of subjects ranging from biology to archaeology. Students conduct fieldwork on the property’s woodlands and wetlands and use the former Shaker farm’s buildings for classroom work.

Science Day is a collaboration between UC and the Great Parks of Hamilton County. UC researchers sometimes conduct fieldwork in the county’s parks, including an ongoing study of tick-borne illness in southwest Ohio.

“Great Parks’ partnership with the University of Cincinnati Center for Field Studies is a valued bond that supports ongoing nature education and environmental research in our region,” Great Parks of Hamilton County CEO Jack Sutton said. “Science Day celebrates these opportunities by inviting the public to see how biology, geology, anthropology and geography students are making a difference in environmental exploration. It will be a fun day of nature walks, demonstrations and hands-on activities for everyone.”

Science Day includes Bug Walks to look for butterflies and other interesting insects.

Science Day Aug. 18

Morning program:

10 a.m. Bug Walk with UC biology professor Joshua Benoit

10:15 a.m. Buzz about Beekeeping with UC engineering graduate Luke Jett

10:45 a.m. Plant Walk with UC biology professor Denis Conover

11:15 a.m. Smart Water Systems and Recycling with UC engineering professor Soryong “Ryan” Chae

11:30 a.m. Creek Walk with UC biology professor emeritus Michael Miller

11:30 a.m. Lunch by Velvet Smoke BBQ

Afternoon program:

1 p.m. Bug Walk with UC biolog professor Joshua Benoit

1:15 p.m. Recycling and its impact with UC College of Business grad Sascha Dovenbarger

1:45 p.m. Plant Walk with UC biology professor Denis Conover

2:15 p.m. Extreme Weather with UC professor emeritus Arnie Miller

2:30 p.m. Creek Walk with UC biology professor emeritus Michael Miller

Activities throughout the day:

Erosion Table by Great Parks of Hamilton County
Live Animal Interaction with Great Parks of Hamilton County
Fossil Dig with the Cincinnati Museum Center
Nature Crafts
Coloring Tables
Games of cornhole

Purchase Tickets:

Tickets are $5 for adults and free for children 12 and under and are available here.

Directions:

From I-74 take Exit 3 to Dry Fork Road. Take Dry Fork Road north to New Haven Road and turn right. Make the next left on Oxford Road to the Field Center, which will be on the left (11053 Oxford Road).

Collecting butterflies and other insects.

Learning more about biodiversity.

Looking for crayfish and salamanders.

Field research to labwork

Do you like field research? At UC, biology students get hands-on experience in their chosen subject area. Check out the Department of Biological Sciences or explore other programs on the undergraduate or graduate level.

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