“A thousand Yellowstone wonders are calling, ‘Look up and down and round about you…whatever your fate, under whatever ignorance or knowledge you may afterward chance to suffer, you will remember these fine, wild views, and look back with joy to your wanderings in the blessed old Yellowstone Wonderland.”
—John Muir[1]
Many of the people who participated in the Center’s Art in the Garden activities this summer came to Wyoming for one reason. Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone was the first national park, and since its opening in 1872 the park has been very popular with tourists. They come hoping to be with nature, experience Old Faithful, spot a bear, etc. With Yellowstone’s popularity and proximity, I thought it was time to dedicate a week of activities to it.
Our “Yellowstone” week was very popular, as the kids who participated enjoyed sharing stories about their experiences in the park along with what they still hoped to see.
Below I have included the directions to the activities so you can also make them at home.
Yellowstone Arts and Crafts
If I Ran the Park: Yellowstone Collage
Many of you might be familiar with Dr. Seuss’ book If I Ran the Zoo, in which a young boy, Gerald McGrew, imagines what the zoo would be like under his care. He decides to get rid of all the animals and replace them with bizarre ones. This activity is very similar, as your child can imagine and decide what animals they would have if they were in charge of Yellowstone National Park. Let their imaginations run as wild as the animals in the park!
Make Your Own Yellowstone “If I Ran the Park” Collage
Supplies:
- Construction Paper
- Glue sticks
- Old Magazines with animal pictures
- Scissors
Directions:
- Give your child magazines and let them cut out animals they would like to have if they were in charge of Yellowstone National Park.
- Animal choices do not have to reflect the actual animals that currently live in Yellowstone.
- Paste pictures to create a collage.
Yellowstone Animal Puppet
There are many animals that roam throughout Yellowstone. In fact the park and its surrounding ecosystem is one of the most diverse places in the world! Everything from bears, mountain lions, and bison—oh my! During this week’s Art in the Garden, visitors made their own Yellowstone animal to take home.
Make Your Own Yellowstone Animal Puppet
Supplies:
- Paper Bag
- Construction Paper
- Scissors
- Glue
- Paper Bag Mountain Lion Template
- Paper Bag Bear Template
- Paper Bag Buffalo Template
- Paper Bag Wolf Template
Directions:
- Choose one of the above templates.
- Print out the template and cut out the pieces.
- Trace the pieces onto construction paper.
- Cut out the pieces.
- Glue them to the proper places on the paper bag.
- Decorate.
Yellowstone Sketchbook/Journal/Scrapbook
Every year three million people visit Yellowstone National Park [2]. And every person who visits has their own unique experience. What better way to preserve your memories of the trip, than by creating your own sketchbook. journal, or scrapbook?
Make Your Own Sketchbook, Journal, or Scrapbook
Supplies:
- Thick Paper
- Construction or White Paper
- Scissors
- Hole Punch
- Markers, crayons, or colored pencils
- String, ribbon, or leather to tie
Directions:
- Cut out two thick pieces of paper, making them the same size. This will be your cover and back page.
- Cut out construction or white paper, making it slightly smaller than the thick paper. These will to be the inside pages.
- Decorate your cover page.
- Punch two holes in your cover page and back page.
- Punch two holes in every page of your inside papers, making sure they line up with the front cover and back page.
- Tie the book together by weaving your string through all the holes, double knotting.
- Decorate the inside of your book, making it a scrapbook, sketchbook. journal, or combination.
For more Art in the Garden activities, go to A Cowboy’s Life is the Life for Me, Wild Things, How the West Was Fun, and Nature Arts and Crafts.
To read more about Yellowstone National Park, check out our blog, Fieldnotes from the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
Or visit the Draper Natural History Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.
Notes:
1. John Muir, “The Yellowstone National Park,” in Our National Parks (Boston, MA: Houghton & Mifflin, 1901), accessed August 30, 2014, http://vault.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/writings/our_national_parks/chapter_2.aspx.
2. National Park Service, “Visitation Statistics,” National Park Service, accessed August 12, 2014, http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/visitationstats.htm.
Bibliography
Muir, John. “The Yellowstone National Park.” In Our National Parks. Boston, MA: Houghton & Mifflin, 1901. Accessed August 30, 2014. http://vault.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/writings/our_national_parks/chapter_2.aspx.
National Park Service.”Visitation Statistics.” National Park Service. Accessed August 12, 2014. http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/visitationstats.html
Seuss, Dr. If I Ran the Zoo. Dr. Seuss Enterprises, 1977. First published 1950 by Random House.
