Today I decided to take the day off and go to a field trip with my son. He is a 4th grader at John Tuck Elementary School in Redmond. We went to the High Desert Museum . The teachers gave us chaperons a packet students needed to complete by the end of the visit. That kept us busy and going!

First, we visit the Donald M. Kerr Birds of Prey Center . We learned that birds that hunt for food, such as eagles, falcons and owls, are known as birds of prey or raptors. We also learned that vultures are not predators but decomposers. They don’t have the sharp talons that actual predators have.

We also attended a Live Bird Encounter. Yes, we met, McKenzie the Owl. We learned that owls although have binocular vision, their large eyes are fixed in their sockets, as with other birds, and they must turn their entire head to change views (actually they can turn their heads up to 270 degrees). Also owls like to hunt skunks at night.

In the prey center we also saw other predators and figured out what type of food chain was here at the high desert: Producers are all trees that have seed cones (conifers) such as the ponderosa trees, manzanita, bitterbrush, lodgepole and others. First consumers are flying skirrels and other small mammals such us mice. Second consumers are birds of prey, as our friend McKenzie, the owl. And vultures act as the decomposers.

Around 11:30 am we went to the exhibition “Spirit of the West.” Through detailed experiential dioramas in Spirit of the West, we witnessed how native american lived, why fur traders came to the region, what were the trade forts for, what were the troubles that entailed traveling the Oregon Trail, when did hard metal and gold miners came to the region, how a buckaroo spent his time and how did a town look like during the XIX century.

After having lunch we sat around the entrance of the museum and listened to the Matsiko Children Choir from Uganda who are touring Central Oregon this week. These children’s choir is part of the International Children’ s Network . Their “open-source” approach, allows people to sponsor children in need and bring them hope and love. It was wonderful to see these about 30 children sing and dance, and we talked a little bit with some of them. We took pictures with Mauro and Bruno.

Click in the followinglink to watch a video of theMatsiko Children’s Choir on Seattle KOMO-TV

After the cheerful Matsiko Children presentation we visited the By Hand Through Memory where we learned about the Indian nations of the Columbia River Plateau as they traveled from reservation confinement to the 21st century.

Around 1:30 pm, despite the rain we went outside to visit the Autzen Otter Exhibit, where we saw Thomas swimming and showing off. Then we visited the Lazinka Sawmill, and the 1880 High Desert Homestead Ranch where we finished our worksheet packet. Yeahhhh!

At 2:15 pm we loaded the bus and returned home with many of the fun-filled learning experiences still spinning in our heads.

The 2nd annual High Desert Inter-Cultural Festival, A Day of Unity among Different Cultures presented by R.I.C.E. – Redmond Inter-Cultural Exchange was hosted at the International School of the Cascades, Redmond High School- Hartman Campus last Saturday April 12, 2008.

Visitors learned about other cultures and customs through displays of culturally-specific items, music, food, workshops and friendly conversation.

The following countries/cultures where represented: Colombia, Thailand, Germans from Russia, Paraguay, Venezuela, Hellenic Society, Panama, USA/Americana, Native American, Mexico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua (Condega), Philippines, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Celtic Society, Japan, Ivory Coast of Africa and Guatemala.

Other activities included: musical performances, dance performances and instruction, art including a Japanese calligraphy workshop, kids activities and multi-cultural story times provided by Deschutes Library, Cuban and African drumming workshops.

Students from the International School of the Cascades volunteered. It was a pleasure to see them mingling with the public and presenters and see everybody having a blast.

Walking through the main hall felt like walking through a wonderful International market. Thanks R.I.C.E. for organizing this fantastic event for our community.