Who Pooped in the Park??

Teri and I have developed a couple of new Junior Ranger programs this summer, and "Who Pooped in the Park" may be our favorite!! We borrowed the name from a book series that describes using scat, tracks, and other signs to learn about the different animals in the park. 

First we needed some poop, and luckily several nature supply stores sell authentic looking rubber scat, cast from the real thing.

Red Squirrel Scat Replica

To go along with the scat, we printed out the tracks of various animals, and then had the kids match the scat to the tracks. They did remarkably well!!

Squirrel Tracks

Our best prop is this lovely replica of Black Bear scat. Kids just love it.  You can tell them it is rubber, but they each had to touch and smell it, and most ended up trying to pull it apart as well.

Black Bear Scat Replica

After our "Match the Scat to the Track" game, each of our Junior Rangers chose a few track templates and made themselves a Nature Book that included tracks and facts about the animals that they had chosen.

Teri had made up Fact Sheets for each animal that the kids referred to for information.

Fact Sheet and Scat for Little Brown Bat

We are getting excellent turnout for these programs, with 30-40 kids and their accompanying adults. The adults seem just as interested as the kids, and often will participate in the craft projects as well. 

Another Successful Junior Ranger Program

Mark