Mary (not her real name) was excited. She could smell the earthiness and hear the wind rustling the trees that told her that today’s lesson was going to be outdoors. She bounced slightly from foot to foot as her favorite Urban Ecology Center educator, Ms. Regina, described the day’s activities.

“Can I run now?” Mary asked her teacher from school.

“Yes, go for it!” her teacher replied. Smiling, Mary ran across the field, exhilarated by the fresh air and the ground pounding beneath her feet.

It was 5pm on a late fall, Friday evening and I was enjoying a cup of hot chocolate at the Menomonee Valley branch’s reception desk. A group of our regular youth visitors were running around the building as it was too dark outside to explore Three Bridges Park and they were having too much fun to go home. It was a quiet evening, perfect for kids to just hang out and be themselves in our safe community center. I couldn’t see anybody around, but I could hear little feet moving fast.

“Do you like animals? There’s a room filled with Wisconsin Animals and a S-L-I-D-E” our Saturday morning receptionist Sybil Rockwell said smiling.

“A what?!” said a visiting child. He begins to sound out the letters “S-L-I-D-E, sl-ide, slide”. “There’s a slide here!?” said the child excitedly.

"Your right!" answered Sybil, “Let’s go find it!”

This is just one example of the many unique interaction that our volunteer receptionists provide our visitors.

The front desk receptionists are a dedicated crew of volunteers that return week after week for a 2-3 hour shift. They play an important role for our operations and work towards our mission of ecological understanding and growing community.