Bringing Yellowstone to Wisconsin Virtually

Today students in fifth grade at Roosevelt Elementary had the opportunity to talk with a park ranger from the Yellowstone National Park.  The park ranger spoke about Yellowstone National Park and tied it into their environmental studies unit.  The ranger will introduce Yellowstone as the world's first national park, and discuss geology, wildlife, and the National Park Service mission of preservation and stewardship.  The ranger talked about the ecosystem and the wildlife you might find in these different areas.

The park ranger shared pictures of some of the animals that inhabit the national park such as wolves, bison, bears, and coyote.  He showed the differences in some of the animals skull shapes and why that makes them better predators than others.

Students were able to ask questions about the geysers, pouching, wildlife, and other interesting pieces.  One question that was asked was if there were redwood trees in the park.  The ranger explained that there were redwoods but none that were alive.  This is because they are petrified redwood.  He showed them a piece of petrified wood that was dated to be about 55 million years old.

The students were very impressed with his knowledge of the park and the ecosystem.  It was a great experience for the kids.  The park ranger encouraged the kids to check out Wisconsin's national parks!