Track, Scat, and Sign Discovery Kit®
Track, Scat, and Sign Discovery Kit®
Perfect kit for interpreting the clues that animals leave behind. Based on a collection of replicas (provided) and creative activities, young naturalists in grades 3-5 (ages 8-10) learn the basics of interpreting animal sign, including evaluation of animal tracks, trails, scat, and pellets. Kit includes Take Along Guide to Tracks, Scats, and Signs, Animal Tracks guide, three Perfect Pellets (for investigating clues that owls leave), three scat and three track replicas (adult coyote, raccoon, opossum), the Feather Replica Sampler Template, and a booklet with background information and classroom and field activities. You can customize this kit with additional replicas that are pertinent to your area from Acorn Naturalists’ extensive collection. This unique kit introduces hands-on activities that pique student interest and improve observation skills.
#KIT-17249
Introduction (from the activity booklet that comes with this kit):
When you look for clues indicating an animal’s presence or activity, you often look for three things: tracks, scat, and other sign. Animal tracks, or footprints, are usually seen on soft surfaces, like mud or sand. Animal scat, or droppings, is another obvious animal sign. Scat reflects a variety of shapes, sizes, and composition. A berry-eating fox may leave behind scat laced with the outer skins of berries; a carnivore such as a bobcat will likely produce scat loaded with the fur of its prey. Since some scat contains pathogens that can cause illness, it is best to not handle the real thing.
Last, “other sign” includes obvious clues—a nest, a burrow, or a gnawed pinecone—as well as subtle ones such as egg fragments, feathers, or slime trails made by a garden snail. With this kit, young trackers can begin searching for tracks, scat, and sign, and use their new skills on school grounds and in their backyards, as well as on the trails they hike.
Receive 10% off when ordering 10 or more of this item. Upon checkout, discounts for all items are added together and collectively subtracted from the total.