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| New 10,000-Square-Foot Interactive Nature Experience to Open in July at Conner Prairie || Construction on Treetop Outpost started in late October and continues today in the southwest corner of the museum’s grounds. Several diverse activity areas will surround the treehouse in which guests can engage with natural materials, experience archaeology, build, create unique nature-based artwork, explore music with instruments and more. Also, a connecting nature walk will lead visitors through woods and along the river to the prairie. Visitors will enter the treehouse
by spanning a suspension bridge or walking up an elevated walkway.
 The $750,000 exhibit being built by general contractor Hagerman Group was announced at Conner Prairie’s 2016 Annual Meeting Wednesday, during which a nationally renowned dinosaur paleontologist and popular children’s show host told the audience that now, more than any other time in history, we have to get youth connected with nature. “The indoor migration that has occurred in just a single generation has contributed to a growing rate of obesity, attention deficit syndrome, diabetes, myopia and other diseases among children,” said Dr. Scott Sampson, host of the popular PBS KIDS series “Dinosaur Train.” “A screen looks the same in Indianapolis as it does in Miami, Tulsa or anywhere,” he said. But outdoor destinations, he said, like local back yards and parks, Indiana’s McCormick’s Creek State Park, his own native Canadian wilderness and even the Paris streetscapes lead to nature discovery, interaction and appreciation. “There’s a huge disconnect between youth and nature now and if we don’t narrow the gap by getting kids outside now, people probably won’t even care about the outdoors in a generation.” Sampson, who is an executive at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and recently authored “How to Raise a Wild Child,” said adults need to instill and encourage three basic behaviors in youth to connect them with nature for a lifetime. “Notice that nature’s everywhere. Look at it and be curious,” he said. “Let them engage. Let them grab a stick and play, jump in the mud and climb a tree. Don’t say no. And let them wonder. Kids are naturally inquisitive and want to learn on their own. Share your own stories about your life in nature and encourage them to create their own lifelong memories.” At the Annual Meeting, Conner Prairie shared its successes and milestones achieved in 2015:
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