Adventure Together: Fall in love with nature and science in February while making family memories

Tegu lizard at Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary. Photo courtesy of Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary.

I’ve heard it said that, if February weren’t short, nobody would survive the winter. We go into this month with an expectation of impermanence, time here and gone quicker than ice floating down the Susquehanna.

One way to preserve moments this month is to take a family train ride rather than navigating traffic. Tempted by two of our favorite things, my kiddo and I hopped on the Amtrak in Harrisburg to visit The North Museum of Nature & Science.

After arriving at the Lancaster station, we bundled up and embarked on the 1.2-mile walk to the museum. It was chilly, but we made it whimsical, touring the neighborhoods of Lancaster and discussing the houses and shops. When we got into the museum, staff let us know about a scavenger hunt that we completed to receive a prize of diffraction glasses. Diffraction splits light into individual spectrums of color, which is an incredible starting point for a physics discussion. These glasses not only diffract light but bend points of it into rainbow heart shapes—so February.

The North Museum has a Shallow Seas exhibit where we touched an actual narwhal horn, a must-do for fans of the unicorns of the sea. In the Nature Gallery, there’s a glass-walled beehive to watch female worker bees caring for larvae, cleaning and capping amongst the combs. We learned that the majority of bees in a colony are female, often numbering in the thousands, while male bees, called drones, are the minority. The highlight of the museum was the Live Animal Room, where we saw a tegu lizard.

Creature Feature

If you’re unsure what a tegu is, just ask the folks at Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary. Forgotten Friend is a nonprofit reptile rescue and education organization. They travel throughout central PA and beyond performing outreach programs that share their love of reptiles. The owner, Jesse Rothacker, is a rousing presenter, piquing interest by asking questions, testing knowledge and involving volunteers. At one of the events we attended, he lined up several children to collaboratively hold a massive Burmese python. After the program, kids (and parents) are usually able to pet some of the animals. Forgotten Friend has an upcoming public show at New Life Church in Harrisburg on Saturday, March 8, from 1 to 4:30 p.m.

You can give reptiles a chance by educating yourself and your community on these complex, cold-blooded creatures. If you’re interested in adopting a reptile, Forgotten Friend often has animals available for rehoming—they just require you to do homework first. The top three reasons that reptilian pets are surrendered are large size, long lifespan and expensive care needs. Forgotten Friend regularly performs at libraries, which are excellent resources for learning about your favorite reptiles and their habitats. You can also help by growing or supplying leafy greens for the animals at Forgotten Friend (they’re picky, so reach out to check on specifics first) or by donating to help with their care.

Play Place

One place you won’t find reptiles is outside in February in Pennsylvania. On a rare sunny day, I took my kid and his best friend to Hoffer Park in Middletown, another destination accessible by train. I had previously known Middletown only as a commuter stop, but this park made it a destination. The playground structure is shaped like two steins (of what we can only assume to be root beer) that connect by an elevated walkway to a castle-like overlook with a twisty tube slide. Hoffer Park has an inground merry-go-round, which I had never seen before but seems infinitely safer than the traditional style that I got launched off in the ‘90s. There are also swings and tandem swings, a climbing rock with a life-sized mountain lion on it, a train car with a short slide for younger park goers, plenty of open space and trees to run around, and a stunning view of Swatara Creek. If you’re hungry after play, try the nearby Brownstone Café where food is both affordable and delicious.

Between warming little fingers to wiping runny noses to building mailboxes for school Valentine’s Day parties, we piece together another month. Though February is fleeting, it’s overflowing with reminders of love, a feeling that fills us up and is here to stay.

The North Museum of Nature & Science is located at 400 College Ave., Lancaster. For more information, visit www.northmuseum.org.

To learn more about Forgotten Friend Reptile Rescue, visit www.forgottenfriend.org.

Hoffer Park is located at 325 Mill St., Middletown. For more information, visit www.middletownborough.com/services/parks.

If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!