Hartwick Pines State Park near Grayling will be hosting its annual Maple Sugar Day on Saturday, March 28. Visitors should plan to spend the day at the park learning about North America's oldest agricultural product with activities slated from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Visitors to the park will be able to:

• walk into the sugar bush to help tap a maple tree,
• observe the boil-down process which converts maple sap to maple syrup,
• learn about the history of maple sugar making in North America,
• view videos titled "Maple Sugar Farmer," "Maple Sugaring" and "The Maple Sugaring Story,"
• ask an expert about how to start making maple syrup and tap trees in your own backyard.
• taste maple sap and the finished maple syrup, and
• purchase genuine maple sugar candy and syrup.

Children can participate in tapping a maple tree and will learn how to build their own mokuk. A mokuk is a birch bark container in which native peoples transported maple sugar. Making a paper mokuk replica provides a history lesson and discussion about how European settlers learned of the Native Americans' sugaring culture.

Tree tapping demonstrations will take place at 10:30, 11:30, 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 in the sugar bush and some visitors will be able to help staff tap the maple trees.

Visitors will be able to taste maple syrup and sap, smell the aroma around an outside evaporator pan and welcome spring at this educational and fun event. Maple recipes will be available for those wishing to savor the sweetness of the day.

Along with the annual Maple Syrup Day on March 28, schoolchildren will have a chance to come out and visit the "sugar bush" and learn about the science and history of maple syrup making during the weeks of March 23-27 and March 30-April 3. If teachers are interested, they should call (989) 348-2537 to arrange for a visit. The staff can take up to two to three classes during a one-hour program.

The Department of Natural Resources, the Department of History, Arts and Libraries and the Friends of Hartwick Pines State Park co-sponsor this special event.

There is no fee for this event, but a Motor Vehicle Permit is required for park entry. Permits are $24 for a Michigan resident for an annual and $6 for a daily. For out-of-state residents, permits are $29 for an annual and $8 for a daily.

For more information on Hartwick Pines State Park, visit the park's Web site at www.michigan.gov/hartwickpines.