Education Resources

We love making outdoor education fun, and inspiring learners of all ages to become good stewards of our air, land, and water. We are pleased to offer downloadable resources for a wide range of indoor and outdoor learning activities.

eBooks

Family Field Trip Learning Adventures

Engage your senses, explore nearby habitats, and learn about nature through these easy and fun activities designed to be shared by family members of all ages.

Download Family Field Trip Learning Adventures

small child walking across a hand-made bridge over a stream

Games

Animal Tracks Match Game

Discover who else is walking in the forest when you learn to recognize their tracks.

Download Animal Tracks Match Game

Forest Bingo

Take a trip to the woods. How quickly can you locate everything in a row or column? Can you find everything and black out your board?

Download Forest Bingo Card

forest bingo card

Nature Scavenger Hunt

Explore and observe to find as many things as you can on the scavenger hunt list.

Download Nature Scavenger Hunt

kid detective looking through a magnifying glass

Mosses Scavenger Hunt

Moss breaks down rock to create soil in which other plants can grow. Can you find all the different kinds of moss growing on the Rhododendron Preserve?

Download Mosses Scavenger Hunt

Science Activities

Science Activities 1-25 were provided by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Wild Salmon Education Trunk.

Activity 1: Salmon Rescue Card

Learn about salmon life history, why salmon are endangered, and what we can do to help wild salmon thrive.

Download Activity 1: Salmon Rescue Card

Activity 2: Are You Me?

Using picture cards, learn to recognize various young stages of aquatic animals and match them to their corresponding adult stages.

Download Activity 2: Are You Me

Activity 3: Life is Short and Then You Spawn

Use a sock puppet play to learn about the life cycle of salmon.

Download Activity 3: Life is Short and Then You Spawn

Activity 4: Salmon Habitat Bag

Explore the contents of a bag that contains items representing the important features of salmon habitat. Decide what each item in the bag represents, and how this habitat feature contributes to salmon survival.

Download Activity 4: Salmon Habitat Bag

cloth bag tied at the top

Activity 5: Salmon Life Cycle Bracelet

Learn about the life cycle of salmon while making this bracelet, then use the bracelet to tell the salmon story to others.

Download Activity 5: Salmon Life Cycle Bracelet

Activity 6: Kelp Help

Estuaries are the keyhole through which salmon pass to begin and end their journeys. Research the role of estuarine environments in the survival of salmon, create a mural and report about your findings.

Download Activity 6: Kelp Help

kelp

Activity 7: Zippy Zip-loc Bag Aquarium

Design a mini aquarium in a Zip-loc bag, demonstrating estuarine qualities that support the survival of young and migrating salmon.

Download Activity 7: Zippy Zip-loc Bag Aquarium

aquarium

Activity 8: Fishy Who’s Who

Conduct an inventory of fish habitats in your area, learn about the various fish species that occupy these habitats, and locate the fish species on a map according to where they occur.

Download Activity 8: Fishy Who’s Who

Activity 9: Watershed in Your Hand

Make a watershed model with paper and markers, then observe how rain flows from high places to low and what the water carries with it as it goes.

Download Activity 9: Watershed in Your Hand

watershed in your hand

Activity 10: Managing Salmon Through Otoliths

Otolith marking is an innovative way of marking salmonids without ever having to handle the fish. Learn about thermal otolith markings and how to interpret the code as scientists do. Learn what kinds of information can be found once the “pattern” is discovered, and determine the otolith code of samples provided.

Download Activity 10: Managing Salmon Through Otoliths

microscope

Activity 11: Reading Fish Scales

Growth rings on a salmon’s scales can tell us a lot about the life of a salmon. Learn how scientists “read” fish scales to forecast the populations of future salmon runs.

Download Activity 11: Reading Fish Scales

reading fish scales

Activity 12: Managing Salmon by Coded Wire Tags

Learn techniques in fish management to count fish by coded wire tags. Practice decoding the wire tags to learn about the fish, and create a poster to illustrate how coded wire tags are used to manage fish.

Download Activity 12: Managing Salmon by Coded Wire Tags

Activity 13: Where Have All the Salmon Gone?

Graph and interpret actual fish population data in relation to historical events.

Download Activity 13: Where Have All the Salmon Gone

fisherman pulling up a net

Activity 14: Water We Eating

Visit a local supermarket or grocery and compile a list of products that originate in aquatic habitats. Some of them may surprise you!

Download Activity 14: Water We Eating

fisherman holding a large salmon

Activity 15: Aquatic Times

Using the news releases and websites provided, write and produce a newspaper that features the issue of salmon as an endangered species.

Download Activity 15: Aquatic Times

stack of newspapers

Activity 16: Hooks and Ladders

Role-play salmon, predators, fishing boats, and turbines of dams as you simulate the challenges faced by salmon at each stage in their life cycle. This is a physically involving activity!

Download Activity 16: Hooks and Ladders

long jumprope with several waves

Activity 17: To Dam or Not to Dam

Learn how dams impact salmon, role-play the various stakeholders, and craft a plan to balance competing needs.

Download Activity 17: To Dam or Not to Dam

river running through dam turbines

Activity 18: Facts and Opinions

Not everything claimed about salmon is true. Learn how to identify the facts.

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fact-checking with computers and paper

Activity 19: Deadly Waters

How can water kill salmon? Analyze the pollutants found in a hypothetical river and find out.

Download Activity 19: Deadly Waters

fish skull on sand

Activity 20: Aquatic Heroes and Heroines

Many people are working to protect and restore salmon runs and salmon habitat. Learn about who they are and what they do.

Download 20: Aquatic Heroes and Heroines

Activity 21: When Do Salmon Use Our Streams?

Different salmon species are using the streams at different times of the year. Create a visual display that shows who is present when.

Download Activity 21: When Do Salmon Use Our Streams

salmon swiming in a shallow stream

Activity 22: Take the Pledge

What can you do personally to improve the life of salmon? Choose habitat enhancing activities and practice them for a month.

Download Activity 22: Take the Pledge

people standing with hands over their hearts

Activity 23: Your Impact on Salmon Self-Assessment

What are the things you do that impact salmon? How can you improve? This self-assessment will help you find out.

Download Activity 23: Your Impact on Salmon Self-Assessment

salmon icon

Activity 24: Salmon Rescue Activity Book

Learn about salmon through coloring pages and other engaging activities.

Download Activity 24: Salmon Rescue Activity Book

brightly colored crayons

Activity 25: NatureMapping for Watersheds

Become a citizen scientist and collect useful data.

Download Activity 25: NatureMapping for Watersheds

maps, papers, and flowers

Videos

The Adventures of Theodore Elliot Bear: Transforming Into a Beaver

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/ybSTVnWBB34?rel=0

See Ted E. Bear transform into a beaver to help people learn about the adaptations beavers have that allow them to do the things they do. Use the accompanying list to inspire additional learning activities.

Download the extended beaver learning activities list