In this series we will be discovering educational ‘hot spots’ around Wyoming that would make excellent field trips for you and your students. Our very first stop is what many consider the ‘mother’ of all field trips in Wyoming: Yellowstone National Park. Our family recently had the privilege of visiting this treasure with our in-laws and we did not even come close to tapping into all that this park has to offer; but we sure did see a lot that has whet our appetite for more!
We entered in through the East entrance of the park, and because we were only spending one day there, we chose to see only a few of their main attractions.
Wildlife: As soon as we paid for our pass, we weren’t even 1 minute into the drive and we were pulling over to see a buffalo grazing off the main road. Buffalo are something you will see a lot of in Yellowstone, so this might be an animal you choose to study up on beforehand. http://www.windowsintowonderland.org/bison/index.html has a great e trip to take concerning bison in Yellowstone. In fact, www.windowsintowonderland.org has several Yellowstone-themed resources available. For younger students, have them color a page of a buffalo and teach them some facts about the animal before going: http://www.bisoncentral.com/index.php?c=14&d=109&a=1067&w=2&r=Y Now, aside from seeing buffalo, you have the chance to see just about any other kind of animal in Yellowstone. Bears, moose and birds, to name a few… http://www.nps.gov/yell/naturescience/animals.html, is where you want to go to get a heads up on animals you may find at the park. Taking along some binoculars is a good idea if you are searching for particular kinds of animals, such as birds.
Geology: The geological features of Yellowstone are amazing, from over 300 geysers, geothermal areas and rock formations with sulfur, rhyolite rock and iron deposits. There is a whole lot to study in Yellowstone! http://www.nps.gov/yell/naturescience/geology.html gives you some highlights of what to expect see. It might be a good idea to take a long some rock and mineral field guides for the trip and spend some time trying to identify different things you see along the way. You can also study geothermal attributes of the park before hand: http://www.nps.gov/yell/naturescience/geothermal.html
Plants: There is certainly much to see in Yellowstone concerning plants, once again, taking a field guide to identify and study along the way is a good idea. http://www.nps.gov/yell/naturescience/plants.html has a run down on what is at the park. Take a day and work on a nature journal, encourage kids to draw some of their favorite plants that they see. Yellowstone is a renowned artist spot, bringing artists and photographers from all over the world to try to capture it’s unique beauty. http://donnayoung.org/science/natj/natrjrnl.html is a great place to print out nature journaling pages.
Become a Junior Ranger: http://www.nps.gov/yell/forkids/index.html is a great link to check out all that this program has to offer. They also have a Young Scientist program that is worth giving attention to.
When planning a field trip to Yellowstone, recognize that you will not see everything in one day. It is good to try to focus on just one area at a time, or as we did, the main highlights of the section of park that we visited. To make it fun, study the maps ahead of time if possible, and create a ‘scavenger hunt’ worksheet for the kids to fill out throughout the day as they spot the things listed. Take advantage of talking with the rangers and above all, try not to rush if you don't have to. Yellowstone is full of breathtaking views that you will want to savor for a long time!
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