Ty White looked at the bear's head mounted on the wall of the state Wildlife Safari trailer with a wide-eyed stare.

The Sycamore Lane student inched closer as if the bear was his prey before reaching out to stroke the animal's soft brown fur.

He and a classmate looked at each other and the 11-year olds each let out a laugh.

It was the same kind of joyful mirth that could be heard as other sixth graders watched the outstretched arms of Lumber River Park Ranger Ronald Anderson as he glided and swooped to demonstrate a bird in flight.

"It is all about having a good time and letting these young people learn something about nature," Anderson said of the recent Environmental Awareness Field Day.

About 185 students from Sycamore Lane Middle School visited the Lumber River State Park in Wagram as part of the Field Day sponsored by the Scotland Soil & Water Conservation District.

Students visited eight environmental stations at the park— air quality, forestry, birds, composting, recycling, woodpeckers, water quality and the safari trailer. At each station, instructors spent about 18 minutes with student groups discussing topics such as the importance of clean air, the role trees play in the environment, the danger of fire to forests and tips on recycling and conserving water.

The field day is an effort to have students enjoy the outdoors while gaining information about natural resources and how to protect them, said Martha Norfleet of the Scotland Soil & Water Conservation District.

"It is a hands-on experience for the kids," Norfleet said. "They get to see a beaver or a bird up close as well as learn about the importance of recycling and what we can all do to save our earth and environment."

One of the day's most popular sites was the sensory Safari Mobile exhibit. The facility, which is housed in a 36-foot, tandem-axle trailer, allows visitors to listen to the sounds of birds, view deer and bear mounts and handle pelts of some common mammals.

Michael Inman, a N.C. Wildlife Enforcement officer, said the kid-friendly exhibit encourages conservation of native wildlife, promotes hunter education and enables young people to see and touch some of the game and nongame species that are found in North Carolina.

"It is a nice chance for these students to come out and get a better idea about wildlife," Inman said. "You can see that most of them are having a good time."

Each student was given a conservation pledge bookmark to take home. The pledge book required the student not to waste the country's natural resources.

Near the end of the experience, Student Marcus Brown said it was hard to pinpoint what part of the Field Day he liked best.

Like several of his fellow middle school students, he summed up the visit in a word — "cool."