Explore birding, pond life at Sesqui’s Wild Wednesdays

Want to keep your kids’ minds sharp over the summer break? Wild Wednesdays at Sesquicentennial State Park sneaks a biology lesson into an outdoor adventure.

The program, offered on Wednesdays in June and designed for children ages 6-10, explores a different topic each week, focusing on plants and animals at the park.

This week’s topic is an introduction to birding, said park interpreter Stacey Jensen, who handles Sesqui’s environmental education and programming. She will teach participants where and when to look for birds and what to look for.

Each participant will borrow a pair of binoculars for a bird walk. Then, they’ll make pine cone bird feeders to take home.

The final Wild Wednesday, on June 29, will focus on pond life, exploring what lives in and around a pond.

“We’ll get nets and tubs and scoop stuff out of the pond … We’ll identify whatever we find – or try to, anyway,” Jensen said.

She expects a lot of tadpoles, minnows, aquatic insects and plants.

Wild Wednesdays are 10 a.m.-noon Wednesdays at Sesqui, 9564 Two Notch Road. Adults must accompany children. Registration is $5 per participant per week at (803) 788-2706 or sesqui@scprt.com and generally ends three days before the program. But Jensen said when there are spaces available – and there are for this week’s program – she will continue taking registrations until they start.

Take a water bottle, bug spray, comfortable shoes and sunscreen, and meet at the park office.

After the program, check out Sesqui’s new splash pad, or rent a paddleboard, canoe, kayak or paddleboat for a spin around the lake. The park also has two playgrounds, hiking trails, a mountain bike trail and picnic shelters.

Wild Wednesdays offer a deal on park admission: The child’s admission is included in registration, and adults – who usually pay $5 admission – get in free.

Rebekah Lewis Hall, rhall@thestate.com