The reality of the delicate prairie ecosystem was on display Saturday outside the Lawrence Public Library for children and accompanying adults to examine.

Representatives of the Olathe-based Grassland Heritage Foundation made use of colorful murals, art projects and tables displaying the skins of animals and birds whose habitat is Kansas prairies, including areas of Douglas County. The skins included those from a badger, prairie dog, red fox and swift fox.

The displays, part of what is called the Rolling Prairie Learning Lab, were set up on the library’s west lawn, where children also drew pictures and used clay to make bird nests and turtles.

“They are getting to see nature at work,” said Nick Schmiedeler, of Lawrence, as he watched his children draw.

Eliza Haase-Divine, 3, and her brother, Bennett Haase-Divine, 8, both of Lawrence, make sculptures of animals at the Make Your Own Clay Critter table during the Prairie Learning Lab. The Saturday outdoor learning center was on the lawn of the Lawrence Public Library.

His son, Cooper, 8, was drawing an owl, while his daughter, Goldie, 5, was drawing a turtle surrounded by grass.

“It’s kind of hard,” Goldie said of her drawing, as she made use of a real but empty turtle shell as a model.

“This is a three-dimensional reinforcement of the things they are interacting with today,” said Amy Carlson, a Grassland Foundation board member, who was overseeing the art projects.

Carlson handled the application that allowed the foundation to receive an $8,000 grant from the philanthropic Jerry Taylor and Nancy Bryant Foundation. The money was used to finance the prairie learning lab and bring awareness, especially to children, about the prairie habitat, Carlson said.

Kansas’ prairie is disappearing and will continue to disappear unless rapid growth and development are controlled, said Rex Powell, also a Grassland Foundation board member and retired school teacher. He said he was afraid Kansas might go the way of Iowa, which once was 92 percent prairie.

“Douglas County now has more prairie than all of Iowa,” Powell said.

In addition to growth, development leads to planting of the popular lawn grass, and prairie grass is destroyed in the process, Powell said.

“It’s people causing the problem,” Powell said. “We’ve got to make people realize that humans can co-exist with the rest of nature.”

• Rolling Prairie Learning Lab

A large mural painted by Van Go Mobile Arts, 715 N.J., about nature and the prairie are signature pieces of the rolling lab and are transported by trailer. The mural also was on display and will be seen at future appearances.

Children checking out the rolling lab also had a chance to observe and learn about a live, short-eared owl displayed by Operation Wildlife, a Linwood wild animal rehabilitation center.