They say there ain’t nothin’ like the real thing.  Well, dear… I found something in the meadow today, and I brought it home and please don’t scream when you look in the utility sink… it’s for the kids.

I was out checking one of my geocaches that had recently turned up missing, and besides seeing a groundhog scamper away from me a breakneck speed, I also stumbled onto a white-tailed deer skull with both antlers still intact.  I brought it home since it was entirely bug-scoured and nothing but bone and a bit of dirt and mold from being outside for awhile.   

I looked up some references on the web for how to clean and preserve animal skulls, but most of them start with “First, scrape off all the remaining flesh…” and include such gems as “…after the head has been soaked, the brain tissue should be broken apart or ‘scrambled’…”  Eeek.  This one was way beyond those steps, so I just improvised and decided to give it a good soapy soaking after a couple good dousings of Spray & Wash. 

The nose is a bit broken up and the lower jaw is missing in action, but there are plenty of teeth still in the upper row.  I also just had a dentist appointment this afternoon and got a new toothbrush, so the old one in the medicine cabinet was now scrubbing some Odocoileus virginianus molars. Note to self — toss toothbrush after deer teeth are clean.

My son already brought home a mule deer antler and some articulated cow vertebrae last summer from the area where we were collecting fossils, so my wife shouldn’t go into complete shock — but those antlers sticking up out of the bubbles in the utility sink could definitely catch someone off guard. Let’s just hope my wife sees the educational value of having such a specimen on hand for close study. After all, this is how Teddy Roosevelt got his start as a kid with his self-proclaimed “Roosevelt Museum of Natural History” which was actually his bedroom.  How can I deny my own children the wonders of nature?

More rationalizing… Since we can’t collect things like this at National Parks, I had to take it.  It might be our only chance to come across a real herbivore skull that didn’t cost us $59.95 plus shipping and handling from edu-bones.com.  Oh wait — I think she’s home already.  And I was hoping to have it all cleaned up and out of sight before she got home.  Drat.

Me: “Hi… (insert pleasantries here) Hey, remember my geocache over behind the department store?  Well, I was wandering around trying to find where it went and I found something that I brought home and it’s actually in the utility sink right now, so don’t be surpri…”

Wife: “Oh God, I hope it’s not some critter.”

Me: “Well… it used to be.”

Puppet shows are available at Martin Luther King Junior National Historic Site (Atlanta, Georgia) on Tuesdays and Thursdays in January and Tuesdays only in February. While advance reservations for school groups are supposed to be made 30 days in advance for the 70 available seats at each show, I would imagine a homeschool family could sneak in on a date where there are a few seats remaining (after the local public schools filled most of the seats).  You won’t know unless you call or write!

[And… Visit Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta for kids’ workshops!]

Puppet Shows at MLK Jr NHS:

• A Day On, Not A Day Off – A puppet show about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and why it is important to celebrate the King holiday each year.

  Duration: 45 minutes
  Grades: Pre-K through 2nd grade
  Day & Time: Tuesday & Thursday, 10:00am

• Yesterday Heroes – A puppet show about the contributions of African American men and women whose achievements help shape America’s growth and development in the fields of science, industry, education, and the arts.

  Duration: 1 hour
  Grades: 5th through 6th grade
  Day & Time: Tuesday & Thursday, 10:00am

• Auburn Avenue, A Street of Pride – A puppet show about what made Auburn Avenue “the richest Negro street in America”.

  Duration: 45 minutes
  Grades: 3rd through 6th grade
  Day & Time: Tuesday & Thursday, 10:00am

From an NPS press release…

Biscayne National Park‘s 8th Family Fun Fest Season will kick off with a Reef Rally on January 13 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.  Stations located around the visitor center will provide a variety of free interactive and hands-on activities showcasing the park’s most diverse ecosystem.

Kids can use scanners and electronic scales to determine rates of coral growth; make a working model of a coral polyp to take home; follow the progress of reef development with a VERY enthusiastic cheerleader; learn about producers, herbivores and carnivores on the reef as they build a food chain; and become a Coral Structure Investigator by studying core samples from a coral reef.

Participants will receive a passport to be punched at each station. Those who complete all five activities will earn a button, and those that earn five buttons this season will receive a Family Fun Fest Fanatic Award in May. The Family Fun Fest takes place on the second Sunday of every month from January through May.  For more information contact Gary Breman at (305)230-1144 ext. 1144.

But wait!  Can’t really ramble over to the Reef Rally? Or live too far to frequent the fortnightly Family Fun Fests? Then take the Biscayne Electronic Field Trip instead…!

Ever wonder why the Smoky Mountains and Blue Ridge Mountains have those names? The Cherokee referred to their mountain homeland as Shaconage (shah-CON-uh-gee), or land of the blue smoke. European settlers borrowed the concept and came up with the Great Smoky Mountains and the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Today, you’ll find several national park units here, including Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Shenandoah National Park, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.

So, what is it about these places that conjure up these smoky blue images? Is it:

• A. Blue flowers famous from the area during spring and summer, 
• B. Kentucky bluegrass in the meadows,
• C. Recurring forest fires with bluish-gray smoke, or
• D. East coast smog and pollution?

Actually, it’s none of the above. All those trees, bushes, flowers, ferns, and other plants have to breathe, just like us. But unlike us, where we exhale carbon dioxide laden air, the vegetation exhales something called volatile organic compounds.  Yikes! That sounds like pretty nasty stuff, and some VOCs like paint fumes and petroleum distillates really are bad for us and can often be flammable as well.  But plants can also give off natural VOCs — not nearly as bad for us as dry cleaning products or aerosol fumes.

To get technical on you, Volatile Organic Compounds are defined as organic chemicals that have a high vapor pressure and easily form vapors at normal temperature and pressure. You know that great pine smell that permeated your living room when you hauled in the freshly cut Christmas tree last month?  Those are VOCs you’re smelling. Rub those pine needles in your hand or just bring the tree into a warmer house and the smell gets even stronger because by doing so, you’ve helped release them into the air.

The class of VOCs called terpenes (as in turpentine) are naturally occuring hydrocarbons emitted by conifers. Two types of terpenes known as α-pinene and β-pinene are even used in the chemical communication system of insects!  Who knew?  In the wild and in much larger numbers, all these tiny molecules join forces to form new particles that scatter blue light from the sky.  So when you look at the mountainscape, it’s like wearing Carolina blue-tinted sunglasses.

So, do you think maybe Elvis Presley’s song Blue Christmas was talking about Volatile Organic Compounds invading Graceland every December?   Well, probably not.  For just that one tree to make a blue tinted living room, there’d have to be a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on!

Parke Diem!
— Jon

Get out and celebrate a long-forgotten American holiday to mark our victory over the British in 1815!   It’s Jackson Day (sometimes called Battle of New Orleans Day).

From an NPS press release…

Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, site of the Battle of New Orleans in 1815, will once again ring with the sound of cannons and muskets during an anniversary celebration of the battle. On Tuesday, January 8 at 10:00 a.m. a wreath-laying ceremony at Chalmette Monument will honor the men who fought there 193 years ago. On January 11 and 12, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., living history experts dressed as troops and soldiers from 1815 will share their stories, fire cannons and muskets, and explain the importance of the battle in American history. Visitors can discuss tactics with the generals, learn the finer points of campfire cooking, or visit the kids’ camp, where there will be uniforms to try on and games to play. On Friday night, tour the battlefield by lantern light on “the night before the battle.” On Saturday, January 12 at 4:30 p.m. St. Bernard Parish will sponsor a re-creation of the December 23, 1814, night battle at historic Pakenham Oaks in Chalmette.

NPS Contact: Elizabeth Dupree, (504)589-3882 ext. 224
or visit http://www.nps.gov/jela/battle-of-new-orleans-anniversary.htm

This week, as I was reviewing all my fotos from 2007, I rediscovered something from my summer trip to England’s Yorkshire Dales National Park that really impressed me.  It was very subtle — something that perhaps some folks might not notice, but I thought it was an ingenious technique to teach people about what they were seeing in the Aysgarth Falls area of the park. 

You walk down this picture-perfect staircase toward an idyllic waterfall scene. When there’s not a lot of people around (and I did have times where I had the place to myself) it was just wonderful.  You could even go past the railing and explore the river’s edge, walking out on the flat rocks, hopping over erosional puddles, and avoiding the slippery spots and mud flats here and there.  Then, after enjoying the scenery on whatever level works for you, whether skipping stones, watching for birds, practicing your yoga, or taking lots of fotos, you eventually gotta leave, right?  As you’re walking back up those stairs, perhaps you look down as you ascend toward the main trail, carefully watching your step. 

Hmm.  There are words engraved into the stone steps…  I don’t know if you can read them in the foto I’ve supplied below (click for a larger view), so in case you can’t — here’s what it says.  On each step’s side face, it says “HARD LIMESTONE” and on the top face it says “SOFT SHALE”.

Now most people might just shrug and keep on climbing.  But I thought this was a really smart way to educate the public on what they had just seen.  Four simple words explained it all.  The harder limestone did a better job of resisting erosion from the river while the softer shale did not, which explains the stair-step effect the river had on these alternating rock layers and the resulting waterfalls.

Not only did it convey the message simply and effectively, it’s also vandalism-proof.  How many out-of-date, defaced, destroyed, or missing National Park interpretive signs have you seen in your travels?  I see them everywhere I go, and it’s a crying shame that our fellow Americans and visiting foreigners don’t take better care of these special places. 

So, here’s to hoping the U.S. National Park Service can learn a little from the great, great ideas of other parks throughout the world. It might cost a bit more for this type of signage, but it will still be there the day my great-great-grandkids visit this park.

Parke Diem!
— Jon

Saint-Gaudens Nat’l Historic Site, New Hampshire — January 2008 Photo of the Month

Death Valley Nat’l Park: January 2008 Park of the Month

Hottest, Driest, Lowest: A superlative desert of streaming sand dunes, snow-capped mountains, multicolored rock layers, water-fluted canyons and three million acres of stone wilderness. Home to the Timbisha Shoshone and to plants and animals unique to the harshest deserts. A place of legend and a place of trial. Death Valley National Park.

Useful Park Links

• History and Culture
  • Scotty’s Castle — Educational Groups & Fee Waivers | Virtual Tour
  • Rhyolite Ghost Town
  • Death Valley Ghost Towns
  • The Lost ’49ers
• Nature and Science
  • Animals
  • Plants
  • Natural Features & Ecosystems
• For Teachers
  • Curriculum Materials
  • Electronic Field Trip to Death Valley
• For Kids

I found this information on a North Dakota Tourism website that features dozens of learning-based vacation ideas, some of which are in the National Parks.  The one-day Winter Adventure shown below looks to be a spectacular chance for homeschool families to truly experience the culture of the Hidatsa/Mandan people.  If you live anywhere within driving distance of Knife River Indian Villages NHS, you’ll be smacking your forehead on Sunday morning if you don’t get out there and take advantage of this wonderful opportunity on Saturday, February 16th.

Parke Diem!
— Jon

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Winter Adventure – Heritage Outbound is scheduled for February 16, 2008. Come experience and explore winter life at Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site. The day-long winter adventure begins at 11 a.m. mountain time at the Knife River Indian Villages, NHS, near Stanton. Meet your fellow adventurers over lunch before trying your hand at hide painting. Taught in the Hidatsa/Mandan tradition, National Park Ranger Cassi Rensch will lead the way for everyone to try this activity.

Next, spend the afternoon snowshoeing the trails through the Hidatsa villages with historian Terry O’Halloran, archeologist Timothy Reed, and geologist John Hoganson and learn about Hidatsa village life and the Knife and Missouri Rivers. You can also check out your skills throwing atlatls and playing with ice gliders.

Warm up with hot chocolate and see objects, once used by the Hidatsa, in the interpretive center exhibits before you experience an evening in the earthlodge. We will gather around a huge roaring fire in the earthlodge, where a traditional buffalo feast, prepared by Marilyn Hudson, is served for your enjoyment.

An unforgettable evening continues with traditional stories about Chief Four Bears told by his great-great-great-great grandson, Lyle Gwin. Calvin Grinnell provides insights to the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Sanich tribal history and culture, and Matt Schanandore presents Native American flute music and stories taught to him by his grandmother.

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Coordinator:	Claudia Berg/Dorothy Cook
Location:	Stanton
Date:	Saturday February 16, 2008
Time:	11 a.m. – 8 p.m. (Mountain time)
Est. Price:	$25
Includes:	The fee includes two meals, use of snow shoes, all activity supplies and presentations.
Other Info:	The region of the Knife River Indian Villages, located just North of the confluence of the Knife and Missouri Rivers, was for centuries, the center of agricultural settlement and trade. Our adventure will visit Awaitixa Xi’e or Lower Hidatsa Village and Awatixa also know as Sakakawea Village. For more information, please visit the website.To register call the State Historical Society at 701-329-2724. Payment in full is required at time of registration. No refunds are available unless the event is cancelled due to weather.
Website:	www.nps.gov/knri

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Additional Resources:

• Lesson Plans from the NPS website

I always look forward to planning for NEXT year’s National Park trips.  Occasionally our plans don’t work out and we have to make alternate plans or scale back the grand vision I once had in mind, but it’s still fun nonetheless.  With that in mind, here’s what the Merryman Academy has in store, at least for now, for our 2008 National Park Field Trip Planner:

 Winter and Spring 2008:

• Washington, DC monuments and museums (always accessible but the museums are especially nice when the weather is just too darn cold)
• Virginia civil war sites (there are a zillion sites in Virginia alone, and there are plenty we haven’t been to yet, including Appomattox Courthouse, and the Richmond and Petersburg sites)
• Any Maryland parks we haven’t seen yet (a short list, but the Thomas Stone House and Oxon Hill Farm are on it, as are Forts Foote and Washington)
• The local parks we manage to visit just about every year — Gettysburg, Antietam, C&O Canal, Fort McHenry

The above list shows why it’s so great to live in the Washington, DC area.  Even with all the daily traffic headaches, it’s a great place to be for variety of educational resources!

 Summer 2008:

• Father-Son paleontology field trip to southwestern North Dakota (sounds like a Dr. Seuss reference, doesn’t it?) We found an organization that holds dinosaur digs and runs it much like a summer camp for adults, with plenty of dig time, evening lab time, and ground transportation, meals, and roof over your head are all taken care of. It promises to be a great experience with some of the world’s most significant locations for recent fossil finds, including a turtle graveyard and a dino-mummy.  We get to dig for an entire week and hopefully can pull off a day visit to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, which is one of my favorite parks, and perhaps another chance at visiting Minuteman Missile Nat’l Historic Site, which we missed this past summer because of flight problems on the way there.
• Daddy-Daughter trip to (drumroll…) Nebraska.  Nebraska (!?) you might ask. Well, I’ve thus far allowed my daughter to pick the state we visit each year.  In 2007 it was Kentucky, and this year she picked Nebraska.  Nebraska! Why did she pick Nebraska?  Well, it’s because dear old Dad told her in passing that people in Nebraska were very nice. I probably said that two years ago and she still remembered it.  So, looking at the NPS national map that leaves us with eastern or western Nebraska if we don’t want to traverse the entire state on this trip.  So, we’ll probably fly into Denver for a chance to see Rocky Mountain Nat’l Park, then up into southeastern Wyoming to see Fort Laramie, then into western Nebraska to see Scotts Bluff Nat’l Monument and Agate Fossil Beds Nat’l Monument. Looks like we’ll be learning about the westward migration of the 19th century with some geology, ecology, and paleonotology thrown in for good measure.

Beyond that I haven’t given it much thought yet.  The fall is the best time for a family camping trip, so I’m sure we’ll manage a long weekend with the Golden Retriever in tow.  Maybe a weekend in the Hudson Valley or in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  Or perhaps Niagara Falls or a sailing adventure on the Chesapeake. We’ll see when it gets a bit closer (the intensity of the hurricane season may well decide that for us!)

I hope your 2008 National Park plans take you to places of excitement and chances for learning and adventure. The best bit of advice I can give you is to just do it, and don’t be afraid to be a kid again in the company of your own kids.  Love of seeing, doing, and learning can be contagious with the right role models, and who better than we parents to fill that role!

Parke Diem!
— Jon