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SHINGLETON -- When the snow starts to melt during the day and nights are cold, maple trees are ready to be tapped.

A gallon of syrup costs $41, but one man in Shingleton makes syrup for a different reason:  to give it away and to educate youngsters.
    
Harry Haglund has been producing syrup for 21 years.  It started with his father and now Harry is sharing his knowledge with first and sixth graders from Munising.

"I left my dad the old setup, so I had to start from scratch.  We built this new setup we got now about going on 10 years ago, and we've been teaching Munising kids every year since then," said Haglund.

The kids go on the field trip as part of the Native American education program.  They learn how Native Americans tapped trees, made syrup, and how they lived.

"They need to know that in Michigan, the Native Americans were here first and that's what we try to teach.  This is the way the Native Americans, when they lived here, this is the way they did things," stated Native American educator, Kim Swanberg.

It's a lot of work to make maple syrup, so kids help Harry tap trees and collect sap.  They were helping so they can see the modern way of producing syrup. 

The kids said that they had lots of fun.

"We get to have fun and have maple sap.  When he drilled a hole in the tree and sap was coming out, you did get to taste it," said first grader Mason Smith.

Not only did students get to see everything it takes to make syrup, they got to take a sample home.  The kids also got a tour of a wigwam that Harry and friends have been building since February, and it was a hit with the students.

"There was a fire and there was a little secret pathway in the back," said first grader, Mira Miller, when asked about the wigwam.

Although Harry expects to produce less syrup then last year, he believes it should be an average year.  He plans to end up with about 20 gallons by the end of the season.