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Local Voices

Lyman Woods – Not Available on the App Store

We love our smart phones and tablets – but not everything is available on the app store. Playing outdoors is still one of the best ways to keep your kids happy and active, and as June is 'No Child Left Inside' month in Illinois, we’ve put together a few ideas on things to do in our own nature playground - Lyman Woods.

 

Pick up a stick

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Sticks are the ultimate toy; they can be anything from a fishing rod to skewer for marshmallows. Kids can learn more ways to use a stick with our Wilderness Games survival skills camps for ages 10-14. The camps start in June and include shelter building, fire building and weaponry skills, together with fun games to put those skills to the test! (Sticks will be provided!)

Sleep Under the Stars

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After learning survival basics in the survival skills camps, teens can camp out on an overnight adventure in Lyman Woods. The Wilderness Games begin on Jul 31, with challenges and games for all the ‘Tributes’. “May the woods be ever in your favor.”

Play, splash and stomp in the mud

 There are some amazing things to discover just below the surface of the ponds and marshes in Lyman Woods. Campers aged 6-8 can grab a net and join our Stream Stompers camp in August to discover some of the wetland bugs and creatures that make their home at Lyman Woods.

Make honey

Lyman Woods manages eight hives of honey bees, and produces honey twice a year. Kids aged 9-12 can learn how honey is made on our Junior Beekeeping Camp starting July 21. Campers will learn all about hives, bee colonies and take home their own jar of harvested honey.

 

For the full range of summer camps on offer at Lyman Woods browse the spring/summer program guide online at www.dgparks.org. Registration is also available online, or at the William F. Sherman, Jr. Interpretive Center, the Lincoln Center or the Downers Grove Park District Recreation Center.

 

Of course, you and your children don’t need to join a camp to enjoy Lyman Woods – during the summer the eco-friendly Interpretive Center is open 9am-4pm from Monday to Saturday and 1-4pm on Sundays. Drop by to learn more about the trails and the birds, bugs and other wildlife that live in Downers Grove, or visit to see the butterfly garden, worm composting, native landscaping and green roof.

Lyman Woods is located east of Highland Avenue between Good Samaritan Hospital on the south and 31st Street on the north. Parking is available at the William F. Sherman, Jr. Interpretive Center at 901 31st Street.

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