The Nature Table, an integral part of my teaching The nature table, placed close to a wall that is covered with display paper and an electrical outlet near the floor, has always been a significant area in my elementary and middle school classrooms. Why? Because a nature table helped me create and sustain the appropriate interesting classroom environment in which to build a student community of active, inquisitive learners. Because a well-displayed, interactive nature table appealed to my students’ sense of curiosity (and mine) and promoted interest, classroom discussion and team/individual research. What is a nature table? It’s a table space first owned by me, then maintained and co-owned by me and the class. It’s a table on which were displayed Mother Nature’s delights and mysteries from the first day of school on. The items (rocks, fossils, shells, feathers, bones, plants, whatever catches one’s eye) were artistically displayed, labeled, and accompanied with questions, pictures, reference books, magnifying glasses and a binocular microscope. From the first day of school, I started each the day with a nature table ritual. On Day One, first thing in the morning, I told everyone what’s on the nature table, inviting the students, at the appropriate time, to take a closer look at the things that I had found when out walking and collected in a tin. I then invited them, if they wished, to volunteer to look after the table. At the end of the day, I gathered my students around me they set off for home. I handed everyone a tin, with the challenge: “Hey, see what you can find outside your home……..something really cool that fits inside the tin. Bring it in tomorrow and show everyone.” I called the tins 'pocket museums' after a student said it was like having a museum in your pocket. It always worked! The next morning, students shared their treasures, and displayed them on the Nature Table. Once this routine was established, I ensured the table’s contents constantly changed, either by me or the students bringing in different interesting delights in their pocket museums. The nature table never failed to brighten up my classroom. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………