Hello and welcome to this idea.
The idea is this:
Write a narrative that simulates, poorly of course, the experience of visiting the nature centre.
This is a non-fiction narrative. It does have elements of imagination, but all the physical parts of the story exist in one place.... a special place.
This is version 1.2. The complexity of the narrative will increase over time, especially with the addition of other collaborators' tales.
[[Start the Adventure!|Entry to the Nature Centre]]You are excited to be at the Nature Centre. You have heard so many great things about what can happen here.
First you see a large white building, with very interesting art on the doors.
As you walk through the plaza you like how your steps make a crunchy noise on the gravel.
Suddenly you see something unusual. Something large, something black and yellow.
A large bee sculpture.
<center><img src="bee.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Bee Sculpture"></center>
(set: $entry to 1)
[[Do you run over to the Bee and Climb it?->Climb the Bee]]
[[Walk to Big White Building->White Building]]
[[Go to the Plaza->Plaza]]The Bee!
It is giant.
It is friendly.
It looks like it would be great to climb!
(set: $bee to 1)
[[Go to the rock pile|Rock Pile]]
[[Onward to other Adventures->Finish]]
You decide that the Bee is nice but up ahead is something exciting too.
A Place with rocks!
Lots of rocks!
Do you go to the rock pile?
[[Rock Pile]]
[[Climb the Bee]] <center><img src="rocks.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Lots of Rocks">
</center>
Lots of Rocks!
Can you stack them high?
How high?
[[Return to Plaza|Entry to the Nature Centre]]
(if: $bee is 1)[[Climb the Bee<-Head to the Bee]]
[[Keep walking on a gravel path->RedOak]]
[[More Adventures->Finish]]You have a great day at the Nature Centre<center><img src="white2.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="White Building"></center>
Inside the building is a large wooden desk. There is a very friendly person there that says "Welcome!" You feel excited to be here.
Then you see a few things:
Straight ahead is a glass aquarium, but there is no water inside.
To the left is a sun-filled room. It has lots of interesting things inside, like puppets, skulls, games, activities, and colourful backpacks.
[[Do you talk to the person at the desk?->FC Staff]]
or
[[Do you investigate the glass aquarium?->Sammy]]
or
[[Do you head to the left and the sun-filled room?->Sky Room]]
or
[[Do you head back outside?->Plaza]]What a nice person.
[[Back to the Entrance->White Building]]
You awake under a pile of leaves. You have shed your mammal skin. You are Salamander.
<center><img src="sammy.jpg" alt="picture of Sammy" width="350" height="525"></center>
You see the world from down below, close to the ground, where you feel most comfortable. Moist earth , full of decaying leaves, sticks, and moss are your home. A light mist falls from the sky, keeping you nice and wet. Perfect for an amphibian who likes to dig through dirt.
Above you stands a bushy tree with needles that poke and tickle you at the same time. You move a leg, than another, slowly walking along the forest floor to a nice spot near the trunk of a tree.
Something moves. It is small, black, and shiny. It's a good size for a snack, not a meal. It is near the base of the tree and it starts to head up the wrinkly bark. You follow, you, the predator of the soil, eater of insects and worms.
The creature stops, long antennae tasting the air. Does it sense you, stalking it from the ground? Your strong, thick legs push your brown oval body up, your tail helps you stay on course.
There, it's closer now... almost within the range of your rapid **Amphibian Strike.**
[[Do you climb a little closer->Sammymisses]]
or
[[Do you try to grab it->Sammyeats]]
A really cool place!
[[Play with the puppets->Puppet]]
[[Listen to a Nature Story->Story]]
[[Go up to the loft->Loft]]
[[Investigate the Backpacks->Backpacks]]
Great Puppet Show
[[Explore some more!->Sky Room]]So many great stories!
But which one to choose?
How about a story about [[Crow and Fox->Aesop]]?
Perhaps one about a [[little girl crying because she has no spider->Mora]]?
[[Explore the Room some more!->Sky Room]]
The loft is a great place to imagine being:
A [[pirate->pirate]] or an [[adventurer->adventurer]]!
or
maybe an [[Eagle->beingEagle]]?
You could also just
[[Explore the room some more->Sky Room]] So many cool backpacks to borrow!
Do you want to [[borrow a backpack?->backpackY]]
Do you want to [[explore the room->Sky Room]] some more?<center><img src="redoak.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Yellow Cedar">
</center>
You see some large trees with wide branches and huge leaves. You think you hear them laughing... singing "come play!, come play!"
While walking you also see some leaves on the ground... there's a wriggling movement... it's a worm!
Do you [[Play->TreeTag]] with the trees?
[[Do you pick up the worm?->BeingWorm]]
[[Keep Walking on a trail through the forest->ROakTrail]]
or
Do you head back to the [[Rock Pile]]?You look down and see a hill, but its moving!
<center><img src="ants.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Ants on hill">
</center>
There's lots of ants crawling all over the mound...
Is this their home....
You wonder what it would be like to be an [[ant->BeingAnt]].
Story about being an ant
Wow! That was neat! You look away from the ant hill and see a place of trees, and metal poles in the ground.
Do you go investigate these [[trees->Arb1]]?
or
Do you keep walking on the [[path->Climbing Tree]]?Back to the [[opening in the forest->RedOak]] Story about being a worm
[[Back to the trail->ROakTrail]] This seems like a great place to play some games!
Play [[Meet a Tree]]
or
Play [[Hawkeye]]
or
Investigate those [[metal poles->PoleForest]]
What a great Tree!
<center><img src="climb.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Climbing Tree">
</center>
It almost looks like it wants you to climb it.
You climb like a squirrel... you feel like a [[sqirrel->BeingSquirrel]]The trail gets narrower... and narrower.
<center><img src="redoak2.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Red Oak Trail"></center>
Are there spiders here?
How about plants that grab you?
Walk carefully!
You made it!
There's a creek and a paved path with overhanging trees
Where will go?
[[Look at Creek->Creek]]
[[Follow Path->AntHill]] A fabulous creek
<center><img src="Quibble.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="A Small Creek"></center>
[[Back to the trail->ROakTrail]] A great game
Play another [[game->Hawkeye]]?
or [[Climb the Hill->Berm]]What a great game!
But while you were hiding, you saw a big hill.
Do you want to [[climb the hill?->Berm]]What!
I can build using sticks!
What to build?
A [[fort]] or a [[house]]?
What a great fort!
But what is on top of that hill over there!
[[Climb the Hill->Berm]]
Magnificent House with lots of furniture!
But you can see in the distance that there is a large hill.
Do you think you can [[climb->Berm]] it?[[Climb Up->upBerm]]
Up High.. so steep!
What's that! a Pond!
Run down to see the [[Pond]]
Maybe see the pond later, first [[Roll Down the Hill->Berm]]It was fun being a squirrel.
Around the corner, a pond.
Do you want to go see the [[Pond]] or go back to the [[AntHill]]?So much activity at this pond...
you can see lots of small creatures in the water.
Whoa! what was that zooming near you head?
A dragonfly! What colours! What speed!
Imagine if you could fly like a [[dragonfly->BeingDragonFly]]?Back the pond like dragonfly.
There's a field nearby and further on, a forest.
Do you want to see the [[forest->Grove]] or [[climb the hill->Berm]] Trees in straight lines.
This would be a great place to play a hiding game... or a chasing game!
What would it be like to be an animal in this forest?
Maybe a [[small raccoon->BeingRaccoon]]
or perhaps walk further and see those REALLy [[big trees->Loop]] just beyond.Double-click this passage to edit it.Wow... so big trees, so many plants... dead trees on the ground, bushes, shrubs, so green... and there's some red... and pink... a little white.
I wonder what all these plants are called?
Maybe if you asked, they would tell you?
[[Ask their names->PlantID]]Double-click this passage to edit it.You have to go talk to the person at the desk
[[Go talk to them->FC Staff]] Moving slowly, always watching it with your large eyes, you creep closer... closer... you are almost on top of it. You can see the beetle. It begins to bend in the middle. Now would be a good time to strike!
CLICK! You hear a loud noise. What was that? And where is the beetle? Where did it go? You sit and think for a while, pondering the mystery of the disappearing Click beetle. Oh, well, no snack right now. Maybe it would be better to head back to the soil to find a nice juicy worm.
At least they don't click or disappear. And there's no crunchy exoskelton to crunch through...
You slowly feel your skin change as you become a human animal once again.
[[You are back at the White Building->White Building]] Watching carefully you get ready. One. Two. Lunge and Snap! The beetle is in your mouth, well mostly, its head is sticking out. Better take another gulp to get it down.
You can feel the beetle moving in your mouth, it's flexing in there... legs waving, trying to get away. But you are Salamander, hunter of the forest!
Just as you are about to open your mouth to gulp down the beetle...
CLICK! And Ouch! The Beetle it you with its body. You think to yourself – What kind of a bug did I just put in my mouth. It sort of jumped or hit you hard... it's still in your mouth but its long body is now sticking more out of your mouth.
Click! Ouch. It did it again! No..no... this Click Beetle is too much bother for a snack...
You open your mouth and the Click Beetle quickly crawls out of your mouth, running away before you change your mind.
Oh well, predators can't be successful every time.
Now is a good time to look around some more, maybe crawl up the small tree... what sort of adventures could be in store for you?
You feel your ears change as you become human once again.
You find yourself back at the [[White Building]].As you walk up the stairs to the loft the world seems to strangely change. The wood beneath your feet transforms from light and shiny to dark, rough planks. Your shoes become rougher as well and grow to become lack high boots with shiny buckles.
Around you the stairs change to become the gang plank to your ship. Just as you reach the top you look over the side to see the dark green ocean hitting gently the side of your ship. You glance over and see the golden paint of your ship: Laughing Lightning.
You stand on the deck, looking at the ocean around you, you look to your shoulder where your trusty crow, Munin. The ocean wind makes the flags, ropes, and sails flutter, ready to run with the wind.
Munin looks at you with its jet black eye, giving you a look of excitement.
You yell out orders to prepare to leave and take your spot by the helm.
The Laughing Lightning's sails fill with the wind and you feel the speed increase. Soon you are racing over the water.
Later you see a spot far in the distance. You tell the person at the helm to steer towards it. Slowly the speck gets larger until you see it. It's a ship and it is trying to get away from you.
Munin rises from your shoulder with a small rasping noise and goes high into the air. Then Munin glides toward the other ship, circles it a few times, and flies back to you.
You raise your arm for Munin to land on, they do and give a small croak. You look at Munin and know from the look of its eye that it saw what you are looking for, a medium size ship full of cargo just ready to be taken.
The other ship attempts to change course to outrun your ship, but no one, no one, can outrun the Laughing Lightning and its crew. The flag flying from the stranger is Spanish. Spanish ships carry gold, silver, furs, and goods. They are good prey for pirates. You see the space between the ships get shorter and shorter until finally you can, with your telescope, see the people on board and the name of the ship: Sutil. Ah, a warship full of sailors and explorers from Europe. What sort of treasures are they taking back to Spain? Soon all that cargo will be yours!
The battle starts as soon as you get close enough to start firing your cannon. You tell the cannons to aim for the Sutil's sails, to slow it down.
A few hits later and the Sutil's sails sit still, ripped in pieces by your shots. The Sutil slows then stops in the bouncing water, waiting.
You tell the crew to prepare to board. You gather your sword and watch as the two ships come together then...
Jump!
You hit the Sutil's deck and start to run toward their captain. The Sutil's sailors swing down from the masts, ready to fight. You give a big yell and Munin, flapping wings in your shoulder, craws out a huge cry as well.
You see the Sutil's captain up ahead and with sword a' flashing you dodge hits from clubs and swords to face them in battle.
It is a ferocious fight. The Sutil's captain is excellent with a sword and swings with confidence. They smile as they swing, they are having fun as well. The Sutil's captain makes a risky lunge toward you and you block their blow and quickly prepare to slash against them with your dangerously sharp sword.
Until....
you hear:
TIME TO GO
The shock of hearing the voice stops all the sailors from both ships in their tracks. Swords are held frozen over heads. All the faces turn toward the voice and slowly....
The world dissolves back. You have a crow puppet on your shoulder, a rolled up piece of paper in your hand, and the ship transforms into the loft. There are pillows at the floor to make it seem like the floor is on the ocean, moving.
You had a great time pretending to be a pirate. But now you have to choose:
Have another [[adventure->adventurer]] in the loft
Pretend to be an [[Eagle in a Nest->beingEagle]]
or
Climb Down the stairs to explore the [[Sky Room]] some moreDouble-click this passage to edit it.You are an Eagle!
Raise your wings. Can you see your brown feathers?
Wait, your eyes are changing.... you can see farther now. WOW. It is like having binoculars inside your head. You can see things that are really far, reall well.
You hop onto a high place to look around.
You can see below a babbling brook with some fish swimming lazily in a small pool.
You can see a forest with many animals moving about.
You can feel the wind ruffling yor feathers. Inside you feel it. A need.
You
Need
To
FLY!
With a strong jump you bounce from your perch, stretch out your wings, and let the air carry you.
Every feather on your body touches the wind, lets you feel how it moves.
You move some feathers and with a large beat of your powerful wings you are airborne and gaining speed.
You feel the wind on your feathers. Draft here, gust here, thicker air there. You feel the temperature and how the air pushes up when warm.
You drift into a warm fountain of air, pushing you up. A thermal. It feels amazing and you love how it pushes you higher.... and higher.... and higher.... You make slow circles as you rise higher above the ground.
All the trees get smaller, the river becomes thinner... the mountains come better into view until you are looking down on them.
You soar on the thermal, wings out stretched, eyes staring at the aerial world. A quick flick of a far feather and you turn, a flattening of a wing and you drift.
You are Eagle. But you are hungry now. Time to look for a snack, perhaps some fish?
You tun a few feathers and you are headng back to the river, slowly drifting down as you look for those fish again.
Hmm, there they are. Time to hunt.
You tuck in a few feathers, get into the wind just right, and speed up.
You head down, speeding up but always watching.
You are almost at the river's surface, fish just underneath. You adjust your course to adjust for the water bending the light. You are going fast... and then just before you hit the surface....
Wings out, slow and flare.... Sharpest of your talons whip out...
You feel the fish in your talons, suddenly aware of the danger, trying to whip out of the cage your talons make.
You give big beats of your wings, tighten your talons and gain some space.
You are carrying the fish, still struggling, to a place to eat. Look and see a high place to feast. See the ripples of the river, the whip of leaves in the forest.
There is your eating place... a bare branch sticking out.
Land with cargo, don't drop it. And now.... the reward. Food. Energy. Life. You are eagle.
Slowly,
You feel your eyes weaken and your wings shed their feathers. You have come back to being a human animal. One bright morning as the Fox was following his sharp nose through the wood in search of a bite to eat, he saw a Crow on the limb of a tree overhead. This was by no means the first Crow the Fox had ever seen. What caught his attention this time and made him stop for a second look, was that the lucky Crow held a bit of cheese in her beak.
"No need to search any farther," thought sly Master Fox. "Here is a dainty bite for my breakfast."
Up he trotted to the foot of the tree in which the Crow was sitting, and looking up admiringly, he cried, "Good-morning, beautiful creature!"
The Crow, her head cocked on one side, watched the Fox suspiciously. But she kept her beak tightly closed on the cheese and did not return his greeting.
"What a charming creature she is!" said the Fox. "How her feathers shine! What a beautiful form and what splendid wings! Such a wonderful Bird should have a very lovely voice, since everything else about her is so perfect. Could she sing just one song, I know I should hail her Queen of Birds."
Listening to these flattering words, the Crow forgot all her suspicion, and also her breakfast. She wanted very much to be called Queen of Birds. So she opened her beak wide to utter her loudest caw, and down fell the cheese straight into the Fox's open mouth.
"Thank you," said Master Fox sweetly, as he walked off. "Though it is cracked, you have a voice sure enough. But where are your wits?"
[[Another Story?->Story]]
Or
[[Back to the Sky Room->Sky Room]] This is another story about my little girl Juli. She was about seven years old and was proud to be able to do many things like tie her own shoes, jump in puddles without falling in, and being able to go to school.
It was in the spring, one day, when Juli came running home after school crying. She was very sad and upset. She could hardly take a good breath, she was crying so hard. It took Juli and me many minutes of sitting still and deep breathing to get her breath back.
With eyes wet and nose running she told me that one of her classmates, Ibolya, was angry that she spilt her paint all over her new shoes at school. She was so angry that she yelled very loud and was mean to everyone, even though they were trying to be nice to her. Juli wanted to help Ibolya feel better about the accident and told her that her grandmother always said that mistakes happen, even when you get old and wrinkly. Ibolya did not like Juli's help and told Juli: “So what! Your family is so poor that you don't even have a spider at home!”
Juli got very sad and felt bad.
She wanted to help Ibolya, and felt that she could do nothing to help her friend feel better. Even when she tried, Ibolya snapped at her, making them both unhappy.
Juli also thought that maybe Ibolya was right. Maybe her family was so poor that they could not even have a spider. She asked me with teary eyes, “Are we too poor to have a spider?”
I did not know what to say. Do we have a spider? I knew we were not poor. Yes, we didn't have lots of money, but surely even we had a spider!
I told Juli that Ibolya was very upset and she didn't want to hurt her friend Juli.
Juli asked me: “So where is OUR spider?”
It was time for, what became in our house, the Great Spider Hunt.
First, we prepared a little home for the spider. It was an old shoe box with a few sticks for the spider to build a web on. It also had a leaf in it in case the spider was shy. We just needed the spider.
We looked everywhere. In the bathroom corners, in the bedroom corners, in the kitchen cabinets (Juli even checked the cabinets under the stove).
No spider.
We looked around the houseplants, in the houseplants, in the closet and in the hanging lights in the dining room. We looked in the cleaning closet and the broken toaster we never used.
No spider.
We were very puzzled. Where could we get a spider? Where are all the spiders? Did someone come while we where away and take them away? Is there such a thing as a spider burglar?
Juli was getting a little frustrated, and so was I. No spiders! Not even one! Impossible.
Juli then said “Why don't we go to the store and buy one?”
I thought “Can you buy spiders? Do they come one at a time or do you have to buy a dozen? Are they sold by the kilogram? Or do you have to hatch them from eggs? “ I did not know.
Juli then had another idea. She thought that in her school book there was a picture and some writing about spiders. Maybe the book could give us a way to get a spider. I thought her idea was great and Juli went to her school bag.
All of a sudden, I heard Juli scream REALLY LOUD!
Running to her, thinking that a mountain lion had come through the door and was now eating our shoes, I saw Juli crouched near her bag, holding something.
I asked her what she had, and she opened her hand to show me the smallest spider I had ever seen. It was the size of a mouse's pinky toenail.
We were happy that we had our spider. And we put it in its shoebox palace. Juli went to bed that night so happy that even our house could have a spider.
The spider was not in its palace in the morning.
It may be time for another spider hunt in our house.
[[Another Story?->Story]]
Or
[[Back to the Sky Room->Sky Room]]