Animals Down Under - educational game

Animals Down Under !!! Educational matching game!
  In this game you will learn about 10 different animals and how their leather / fur is used to benefit people.
  Remember animals were put on the earth for us to use and we need to take care of these resources wisely.

  You will use your EYES & HANDS & Smarts to match 10 sets together

STEPS
1.  Each team gets a box of 10 toy animals
2.   Each team gets a set of 10 “ interesting facts sheet”
Match the Intetesting Facts with the corresponding animal
3.  Find the matching pelt / skin for each animal
4.  Find the matching item made from the leather or fur of each animal

For example, a Fact Sheet may state:
      -Wolverine fur is very soft and durable and moisture / water will not freeze to it.  These characteristics make it an excellent fur trim for cold weather parkas worn in extreme cold climates like the artic & antartica.
  -Lets say you found a winter coat hood with fur on the table - this is probably a match!
   - Can you find the toy animal Wolverine!??
      -Now lastly find the wolverine pelt (it will probably be a similar color to the toy and you read it will be soft, right?)
       Congrats - you matched a set!

These animal pelts / toys / leather & fur items are used for presentations to youth.  It has taken years to develop the collection - please be respectful and careful.  And have fun learning and exploring as you handle the various pelts / items.

G’day mate!

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Pictures from the event (Boy Scouts of America Camporee) -

• A QR code was used to teach the youth about the game
• About 150-180 youth partipated in the Animal Matching Game
• About 75 leather name tags were created

Breakfast

 Animals Down Under matching game - 4 teams, one per table

 

Youth also made leather name tags

Some youth learned how to condition leather boots 

Youth Education-Animals Along the Oregon Trail

This Spring a local elementary school invited us to teach a module “Animals Along the Oregon Trail”.  In conjunction with pioneer / Core of Discovery studies, this shows the students many of the animals encountered by travelers along that trail.

Over 50 different animal / snake pelts / skins were displayed for students to view and handle.
We played a matching game where students chose a toy animal and searched for the corresponding pelt.

Thanks to our generous partners who loaned / donated big horn sheep horns ( The Wild Sheep Foundation MT), Sheep wool & wool hat blanks (The Bollman Hat Company PA), and a full Buffalo hide (JF, OR) for students to heft and explore.

Also on dispay were a variety of tools / items made of leather and fur used by the pipneers from hats to whips.

The youth really enjoyed this unique “hands on” learning opportunity.

NAACS 2019

The Cascade Pacific Council of the Boy Scouts held the annual NAACS (North American Arts & Ceremonies Seminar) event near Astoria again in January 2019.  

We taught 2 workshops where scouts made medicine bags from deer hides & cow leather.  The teachers Stan & Eric & Bob did a wonderful job in sharing their knowledge.  They patiently guided & encourage the participants as they designed & assembled their bags.  

A total of 25 bags were crafted - required skills included stamping, punching, sewing & designing.  

Here are some pictures of the bags;

We also taught a class highlighting the amazing variety & beauty of the animals placed on this earth.  People viewed & handled the pelts & skins of about 120 different animals.  New additions to the collection this year include camel, mole pelts & New Zealand possum fur.  

They also handled over 50 items made from leather / fur.  Examples include camel leather wallet, badger hair shaving brush, violin bow made of horse hair, elk leather jacket, Australian cane toad coin purse & New Zealand possum fur gloves.  

Once again, the Wild Sheep Foundation loaned several big horn sheep horns for all to heft & feel.  EVERYONE was impressed with these horns!  

This year, a new partner contributed to the education of the group - the oldest hat company in the United States - The Bollman Hat Company, of Adamstown, PA.  The Bollman Hat Company provided samples of Grease wool + Carbonized wool + a "carded body" - formed sheep wool prior to felting + a hardened felted body + a dyed felt body - ready to be formed into a final hat.  

This example of the various steps to transform the freshly sheared sheep wool into a wool felt hat captured the attention of many.  

Another new partner, The Tin Shed, in New Zealand, also donated possum fur & wool to show the progression from the animal fur into a finished item - in this case, wool gloves. 

Participants played a matching game with leather / wool gloves from 16 types of animals;
buffalo, bison wool, cow, elk, deer, goat, hair sheep, horse, kangaroo, moose, New Zealand possum wool, peccary, pig, rabbit, sheep wool & sheepskin - they picked out a pair of gloves and had to find the matching hide.

People who completed a word find / crossword puzzle about animal trivia or leather facts earned a para-cord bracelet from Cabela's.  We appreciate their partnership over the past 5 years.

After a review of the unique pelts / skins we played another game - people chose several of 50 toy animals and searched out the hide for that animal.  Once the correct match was made, the toy was left on the pelt & as others came by to view the collection, they were able to identify the pelts.

Here is feedback from several participants;  "Top 3 favorite parts of the class"

1. Making the deer hide bag / sewing the bag myself / the stamp on the bottom of my bag
2. The huge variety of animal pelts / learning interesting facts about animals / the crossword puzzle since it reminded me of what we learned 
3. Seeing the progress from raw sheep wool to a completed wool hat blank, ready to be pressed into a finished hat.  
4. Tons of different animal hides / Feeling the different hides / big horn sheep horns
5. Played the game with the gloves / feeling the different gloves / lots of animal pelts 
6. Variety of animals / made a deer skin bag / got a para-cord bracelet 
7. New types of pelts since last year / the toy animal matching game / example of possum fur to knitted wool to be made into a glove/sweater
8. Matching the toy animals with the pelts / examples of sheep wool from raw to finished piece to be made into a hat / holding the different pelts 

At the end of the night we enjoyed a delicious dinner including wild rice, pork, elk meatballs, rolls & a mix of potatoes / carrots / yams.