Exploring the Ozarks Outdoors: freshare.net

Sign Up by December 15 to Get First Issue of New MDC Kids’ Magazine

By Jim Low, Missouri Dept. of Conservation

First posted on 11-24-2009

The bimonthly magazine is free for Missourians.

Young Missourians have until Dec. 15 to sign up for the first issue of Xplor, a multi-media mash-up billed by the Missouri Department of Conservation as “nature-tainment.”

The inaugural issue of Xplor will appear in February 2010. Recognizing that young people today get information in dramatically different ways than previous generations, the Conservation Department has devised a challenging, exciting experience that combines the traditional magazine format and online content.

Xplor targets readers 7 through 12 years old. Subscribers will be able to see how nature photographers capture their stunning images. They will get to spend time with people with wild jobs and share other Missouri kids’ real-life adventures illustrated in graphic-novel style.

Other regular Xplor print features will include a “YUCK!” department about things slimy, gooey, stinky and just plain gross, plus audio and video clips that bring nature to life. The magazine will cover the full range of outdoor nature-related activities, from hunting and fishing to birdwatching and hands-on conservation.

To receive the inaugural issue of Xplor, you have to subscribe by Dec. 15. Subscriptions are free to Missouri residents. Nonresidents in the United States can subscribe for $5 a year. Those in other countries can buy one-year, six-issue subscriptions for $8. To sign up, visit http://www.xplormo.org, or call 573-522-4115, ext. 3856 or 3249, or write to Xplor, P.O. Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0180. Parental consent is required.

Xplor is designed to encourage kids to do more than simply read or spend time in front of a computer, said Editor Joan McKee. “We want Xplor to be the trigger that sends them running for the door so they can have their own adventures. The magazine will give them lots of ideas about things they can see and do outside. Then they can go to the website for more details about how to do them.”

The magazine and accompanying online content are designed to address concerns about children’s growing alienation from nature. Author Richard Louv described the phenomenon as “nature deficit disorder” in Last Child in the Woods. The 2005 book distilled much of what was known about the phenomenon’s negative effects on children and society. It also spawned a national movement to connect kids to the outdoors, something the Conservation Department has been working at since the 1930s.

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Comments:

luv the seasons in MO! wildlife and plants are fun to explore for people of all ages - especially the little minds so curious about their surroundings!!

By Laura Calvin on September 10, 2011 - 11:14 am