Tapping our maple tree

On Tuesday we had special visitors from the nature center come to tap our maple tree in the front yard! First, we learned about features of maple trees, and how to identify them. Then the naturalists taught us about we collect sap from maple trees, showed us the tools they used, and we got to count and see just how fast the sap was dripping out of the tree! 

A few students got to pretend to be maple trees while the naturalists showed them how people collect the sap using a hose system when they have a lot of maple trees.  

Lastly, the students learned about how the sap from the tree is made into maple syrup. We talked about how the syrup many of us buy from the store is different from pure maple syrup, and then the kids were able to taste test two different syrups! They got to decide which was their favorite, and which they thought was the "real" maple syrup. Everyone had so much fun, and it was such a nice day to be outdoors!