Nature class in 228 Peace Park - 二二八和平公園

Sometimes weather plays tricks on us - last week we were supposed to go to a different park, but because there was a good chance of rain in the afternoon the nature class moved to a park with a museum in it (in case of the rain we could hide there and visit the exhibition about animals of Taiwan). And of course ... it didn't rain.

In this park there are two museums: National Taiwan Museum and Taipei 228 Memorial Museum. First one has more Taiwanese nature exhibits while the second one deals with the saddest events in Taiwanese history.

Kids have to coolest teacher ever! Not only she knows A LOT about nature in Taiwan, she can also make jewelry out of things found in nature. Here she is showing kids the necklace she made out of sugar-gum tree fruits.

Sugar-gum - 楓香樹 - Liquidambar formosana - Ambrowiec

Today I learned a few new facts - some insects (moths, flies, wasps) lay eggs inside leaves. 

They develop into larvae forming interesting outgrowths called galls on the leaves:

Another thing I learned (and I hope Ania will also remember this) is that the cuts on the bark of a tree are made by squirrels! Squirrels leaving in city parks are often fed by people. Unfortunately the food they get is not good for them, it's usually too soft. Squirrels need to bite hard nuts and fruits to abrade their teeth. Their teeth grow all the time and if they would grow too long they would not be able too eat at all. That's why they often bite the hard trees to help them wear the teeth away.

There are lots of squirrels in the 228 Park. They come very near begging for food, but remember - don't feed them - they can find their food themselves.

There were also some turtles in the pond. Turns out that these were red-eared sliders, which people keep in Taiwan as pets. When they get bored with the turtle they simply let them go into the "wild". 

Red-eared slider - 紅耳龜，巴西龜 -
Trachemys scripta elegans - Żółw czerwonolicy 

In the park we saw many pigeons, some had really nice plumage.

It's springtime! Love is in the air!

I finally know the name of the palm tree behind our house! Turns out it has many names: butterfly palm, yellow palm, areca palm, bamboo palm. The photo below is of palm's flowers.

We also found a sundial clock:

A blind woman was singing in the park.

As always kids had a few minutes of tree climbing and playtime:

The closest MRT station is the NTU Hospital Station on the red line (no.2), exit 4.

Next outing will be at the Taipei  Water Park!