Saturday, July 4, 2015

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

5 comments:

  1. Looks like a great program guys! Wonder if we can get gator poo? :)

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    1. Sadly, I don't see Alligator scat in the catalog. I suppose you'll have to wade down into Blue Hole and collect the real thing!!

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    2. Hmmm...........don't see that happening! :) Thanks for looking!

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  2. Wish we had 30 kids to take on a poop hike. We do have a display of about 30 kinds of (rubber) scat in the VC... it's usually the middle school girls who are the most entertaining... eeweeee.... gross.... yuk.... squeals and high pitched giggles. I love it! I think I'll suggest your hike as one of "Second Saturday" series.

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  3. What a great idea! I bet the kids love poop hikes. Your creativity is really an asset to that park!
    Sharon

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