Expedition Yellowstone is a fabulous program offered by the National Park Service which we were privileged to experience this past November. In preparation for this early winter experience, we studied about geothermal features, plants, and animals that we were likely to see while in the park's boundaries. The excellent instruction and unique activities provided by the enthusiastic and informative park rangers made our trip a memorable one. Upon our return, the students were excited to write their own newspaper articles to report back to our school community about this incredible adventure. The modern impressionist artwork of various Yellowstone species was a fun follow-up to our species research reflecting on the amazing colors we saw at Yellowstone.
Shirley Atkins and Carrie Brunger, teachers
Yellowstone or bust
By LIAM MANIACIFirst grade
(and Shirley Atkins, teacher)
Friday morning, Nov. 10, the primary students got up early to meet at Clark Fork School at 7:30 a.m. After stuffing ourselves, our luggage, and our food into the cars, we began our long journey to Yellowstone Park! During the drive, we worked on drawing and writing answers to our travel scavenger hunt. “The statue by Butte was really big!” said Natalie Abbot enthusiastically. “The Anaconda chimney was used for smeltering copper,” explained Isadora Shannon. “Seeing the bald eagle was my favorite thing,” Duncan MacDonald declared. We arrived at Yellowstone at about 2:30. Ranger Trudy and Ranger Mel gave us a tour.You should see the kitchen at Yellowstone! The refrigerator was like a whole room! So was the freezer. We did all our cooking and cleaning. “My favorite part was using the dishwasher,” said Liam Maniaci. Kids helped by setting tables, rinsing dishes, chopping fruit, and making juice. Parents were the chief cooks, under the coordinating eye of Meg Carnegie. Everyone pitched in and had plenty to eat!
An interview with
BRETT FRANCISSecond grade
Yellowstone is really fun; I like being able to see all the animals in nature. I learned that Yellowstone is different than you might think it is. I'd enjoy going in the time machine again to see the dinosaurs. We saw calderas and volcanoes changing Yellowstone. You should go to Yellowstone because there's lots of really amazing stuff to learn there.
Making tracks
By ELAN WEST-BADMINTONFirst grade
(and Shirley Atkins, teacher)
On Sunday, Nov. 12, Ranger Michael showed us how to make plaster molds of animal tracks. First we pressed a mold of the foot into damp sand. We built a plastic fence around the track so the plaster wouldn't spread too far out. Then we took water and plaster powder and mixed it until it was as thick as a milk shake. My group made a grizzly bear track! We poured the plaster into the track and left it to harden while we went on our wildlife hike. Later, when we came back, it was dry. We dusted the track off with a paint brush and we got to bring it home. Other tracks we made include the cougar, wolf, swan and pine marten. See them in the front entry of the main building of our school.
Yellowstone history lesson
By EVAN MORTIMER and COPELAND BURCHENAL
Second grade
The well-planned lesson on Yellowstone's history was something that will stay with the kids of Clark Fork School forever and ever. We pretended to travel in a time machine. Two kids were the engineers, flickering the lights, and one student was the captain. Everyone made sound effects for our adventure. Each time the time machine stopped, we visited a different time in Yellowstone's history. Isadora Shannon liked the super volcano era. Copeland Burchenal liked the caldera era. The time machine was very fun and the jobs to work the machine were enjoyable.
Thermal features of Yellowstone
By CY BURCHENALThird grade
Day one: We did an experiment so that we could see how a volcano would work. First Ranger Mel buried a balloon in dirt and blew it up with a hand pump. Then Natalie popped it with a pin. It produced a loud bang and sprayed dirt everywhere, destroying half of the mountain. A crater was formed in the dirt. Later, on our hike to Devil's Kitchen, Ranger Mel made a miniature hot spring. She took a film canister and filled it with water, and dropped an Alka-Seltzer into it. It bubbled and gurgled, and some of it spilled out, just like a hot spring. Next, she made a mini-geyser. She took a film canister and poked a little hole in the top. She put in water and another Alka-Seltzer tablet, and it sprayed up through the tiny hole like a rocket. Everyone thought it was cool! My favorite part was the balloon popping volcanic explosion.
A Saturday experience
By ISADORA SHANNON Third gradeOn Saturday afternoon the primary class took a nature hike. They went on no trail. They took a hike at a forbidden place where most people don't get to go. We followed Ranger Mel, and Ranger Michael took the rear. We went up an old hot springs, by the name of Angel Spring. As we passed Devil's kitchen, the old hot spring looked bottomless to us. There was a fence around the big hot spring. Brett Francis and Liam Maniaci had the most interest and hung over the thick bars of the fence looking down. Ranger Mel lead the way past Devil's Kitchen. We found coyote tracks and snowshoe hare tracks. We got to another smaller hot springs and took temperature tests. We also got to go into an old hot springs for a quick tour. On the way back, Craig Shannon, a student's parent, and Cy Burchenal, a 9-year-old student, volunteered as tour guides showing the class pictures of Devil's Kitchen when it was a restaurant. We hiked back to the cars through the snow. When we got to the parking lot, a bunch of kids lay down and made snow angels. Then we drove back to the YCC camp.
Left: Bear by SOPHIA LEONARD, first grade
Right: Bobcat by ELAN WEST-BADMINTON, first grade
----------
Wildlife in Yellowstone
By NATALIE ABBOTFourth grade and SOFIE LEONARD First grade
Left: Fox by ISADORA SHANNON, third grade
Right: Fox by CY BURCHENAL, third grade
-------
Left: Wolf by NATALIE ABBOT, fourth grade
Right: Pika by LIAM MANIACI, first grade
Clark Fork School is our school. We went to Yellowstone. When we were driving to Yellowstone, we saw a big huge bison. Then we looked to the right and then we saw a big humongous elk. Our first glimpse of Yellowstone was amazing. We were, staying at the YCC. It means Youth Conservation Corps. It is used for high-schoolers in the summer. On Saturday morning we got breakfast. Then we drove to the beginning spot of a hike. We hiked from this spot to the other parking lot. While we were driving to the beginning spot, we saw a herd of elk. The leader of the herd was a 7-point bull. He was huge. On Sunday we were making animal prints. We saw the biggest bison ever. There were three big bison. We had to drive 45 minutes to our hike. We started the hike and the first print we saw as an elk print. We were playing a game and we saw a wolf print. There were a lot of tracks because the wolves were chasing an elk for food. Then we walked farther with the rangers. Then we saw squirrel tracks. They were cute. Then we saw a bald eagle. Then we saw a moose track. Yellowstone is amazing.
Wild Wapiti Walk
By DUNCAN MacDONALD First gradeWild Wapiti Walk is a lot of fun. People get to be the habitat or the elk. Two lines of people faced away from each other. They had to pick a symbol for the part of habitat they were going to be such as shelter, water, or food. The elk also picked a symbol to show what part of the habitat they needed. When the lines of people turned around, the elk, or wapiti, would walk to find a matching habitat. If there wasn't a matching habitat, they would die and become more habitat. If they found a matching symbol, the habitat became part of the elk herd. If you got caught by the wolves, then you became the habitat because you die. Sometimes the elk walked right by the wolves because the wolves were too full to eat them. The rangers graphed the numbers of elk after every round of the game. When we saw the graphs we could see how the habitat and wolves affected the elk. We learned that after the wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone, the elk herd populations stayed more constant and the habitat stayed healthier.
Hot in a pot!
By SILAS TEASDALE Second gradeOn Saturday, Nov. 11, my class and I, Clark Fork School Primary friends, and the rangers that guided us, Rangers Michael and Mel, took us on a temperature test in the Mammoth Hot Spring area. We got to use laser thermometers. My class and I were in assorted clans. Sophia, Copeland, and I made the Bear Clan. Our clan's hottest temperature was 120°F. “It was my favorite experience,” said Elan. We learned that 113°F was so hot that it can kill plants. The hot springs smell like rotten eggs. The most fun thing of the whole trip was after the hike when we had snow playtime.
Right: Crossed bison horns by DUNCAN MacDONALD, first grade
Right: Porcupine by EVAN MORTIMER, second grade
---------------------
Right: Fox by BRETT FRANCIS, second grade
Left: Golden eagle by COPELAND BURCHENAL, second grade
----------------
Pika by SILAS TEASDALE, second grade
|
 |
 |
Add your comment now! Write your comment in the form below.
(Email address is for verification only. If you'd like to email a story, look for the link above)