I visited nature discover center in Houston  and  now  want  to  express  you  my opinion. It is not  a  research  paper; it  will  be  looks  like  our  talk  about  nature problems. I  think  that  the  best  variant  to  know  something  new  and  be sure that  you  really  know  this – it is go,  for  example, in discovery  center  and  see  all by  own  eyes.  I want  to  mention  that  I  like  this  hands-on  learning  experiment and  it  pleasantly  for  me  to  tell  you  about  it.
First  of all, when I was preparing for my visit I found the statement of purpose and now I want you read them too.
“The purpose of the Nature Discovery  Center is to:
ü foster an awareness, appreciation, and respect for nature
ü nurture curiosity and enthusiasm for the study of nature and science
ü develop students critical thinking and problem solving skills
ü prepare children to  become environmentally responsible citizens” (www.artcom.com)
These  four  points  very  exact  reflect  the  main  purposes  and  it  becomes understandable  that  they  were  written  by  a  person, who  think  about  nature with  love  and  tenderness.  Sometimes  people  forget  that  they  are  responsible for  all  around  them,  when  I  think about  harmful  humanity influence  on  the environment it becomes very shame on people for their irresponsible actions. Think for a moment that one day all of this beautiful world and wonderful nature will disappear. When I think about this a big horror cover my heart and I don’t want such future. I don’t want to see our world destroyed by own hands and the plots of different fantastic story about the death of all alive on the Earth becomes true.
The main aim of many environmental specialists to find the way of improving ecological situation and not for improving, but also for stop environmental pollution. I understand that sometimes it is hard and seems impossible, but it is a good and right aim which should be in minds of every world’s habitant.
When I was in nature discovery center it was so interesting to look on the nature around and I had a feeling that for a moment I become the part of this amazing nature world. In classes we learned a lot about nature problems and ecosystem. It is important, for my opinion, to think about them in real situation and it promotes more close contact with the main problems aspects and affect on new problem solving variants appearance. Such visits are important for students like a part of their practice and it will help to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills.
I want to pay attention for the children and their contact with a nature. Children are like clear paper and from early childhood it is our debt to teach them to love and protect nature. Children is our future and now by own teaching efforts we can influence on them in a right way.
Nature discovers center give a good opportunity for children to get acquainted with nature in understandable form and on real examples.
There children can learn all about the nature and their connection with it. There are a lot of different special discovery boxes and discovery rooms on various nature topics and  big amount of cognitive exhibits  have a place in discovery center.
Also the Nature Discovery Center create and actively provided different cognitive classes for children, summer science camp, outreach activities, Scout programs, adult lectures, family field trips, and teacher training workshops. As for me it is a good idea to create such children classes and also give an opportunity for parents to visit such classes with their children, because it has not only cognitive nature character, but also helps to make closer parents and their children.
I can say that these programs help children discover the beauty and the wonder of the natural world and its importance to daily lives. It is very good to involve children to nature protection and show how they can use knowledge what they received  in their classes in life situations. Programs are designed for different children ages and it was done for the best understanding material. Classes include games and other form of teaching which are the main forms of children’s cognitions.  It is the first steps for ecological education and children do them with great interest.
Summarizing my words above I want to once more pay your attention that Nature Discovery center do not teach how to “play ecology” and only make ecological solutions, they teach that how to take different nature examples, determine contaminations, describe ecological process and animals, birds, sea inhabitant, take into account their problems and looking for the right and useful decisions. And also the aim is to teach children be more careful with all live around them.
Frankly speaking, when I was there I saw one children’s class and saw that little participants were full of enthusiasm in their work, they want to know more and more and as a result there were a lot of questions, sometimes even so serious that not every adult person can think and ask about such problems. Children have homework after their classes, and this work is interesting for them (to observe some nature process and then describe them in the next class.)
At the end I want to say that such real practice play a very important role in learning nature process not for adults, but even for little children. Quite obviously, that after such powerful emotional influence the people’s psyche substantially changes in the best, in relation to Nature, side. Scarcely it can itself present after it, that person, though one time looking after enigmatic animals life, or seeing that a forest bird feeds nestling, or looking after the first rare flowers appearance (and other ten and hundreds to that similar moments from life of wild nature) Â be able to destroy, trample, not notice Nature round itself.