Antelope IslandJunior Ranger |
Junior Ranger Booklet for Antelope Island State Park in Utah. Published by Utah State Parks.
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Antelope Island State Park
Junior Ranger
Activity Guide
So You Want to Be a
Junior Ranger?
To become an Antelope Island State Park Junior Ranger, complete the following steps.
Step One:
□ Attend a ranger program.
Name of program I attended: _________________________________
One thing I learned: _________________________________________
Ranger Signature: ___________________________________________
OR
□ Watch the Visitor Center video.
One thing I learned from the video: ____________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Step Two:
□ For ages 4–6, complete at least 3 activities.
□ For ages 7–9, complete at least 5 activities.
□ For ages 10 and up, complete at least 8 activities.
Step Three:
□ Return your booklet to the Visitor Center or Ranch for review and recite the
Junior Ranger Pledge.
DID YOU KNOW?
Pronghorn can sprint at 70 miles per hour, making them the second fastest land animal!
Naming an Island
Ever wonder why we call this place Antelope Island?
It was named by a famous explorer in 1845.
Use the words at the bottom to fill in the blanks and learn how Antelope
Island got its name.
John C. Fremont was a great _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _. When he came to Great Salt
Lake, the Native Americans told him he could ride his _ _ _ _ _ out into
the lake and reach a great island. Fremont and his guide Kit _ _ _ _ _ _
rode across the shallows to the island. On the island, they saw lots of
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, which they believed were antelope. (Pronghorn are not
really antelope at all! They are more closely related to an ancient _ _ _
_ -like animal.) Fremont’s men drank from the freshwater springs. They
_ _ _ _ one of the pronghorn to bring it back for food.
On his way back across the _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, Fremont was stopped by an
angry Native American who said that the _ _ _ _ _ _ belonged to him.
Fremont did not want the man to be angry, so he gave him some cloth,
tobacco, and a _ _ _ _ _ to make up for killing the pronghorn. He also
promised to name the _ _ _ _ _ _ after the “antelope” as a tribute.
knife – shot – deer – island – explorer – antelope
Carson – horse – pronghorn – shallows – animal
Trail Journal
Record Your Antelope Island Adventures!
Today’s Date: ______/______/______
I am:
Hiking
Horseback Riding
Biking
Driving
The name of the trail or route I am taking: _______________________________________________________
The length of the trail or route: ___________________________________________________________________
The weather: ______________________________________________________________________________________
The best thing I did today : _______________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Something I learned today: _______________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
The most UNUSUAL thing I saw today: __________________________________________________________
Happy
Excited
Silly
Thirsty
Hungry
Always carry water and snacks.
Always hike with a buddy or family
member. Carry a map!
Stay on marked trails and do not
approach wildlife.
Be kind to other visitors.
Leave what you find where it is. Take
pictures instead!
Look up, look down, look ALL around!
Grumpy
Strong
Tired
Junior Ranger Quests
Antelope Island State Park is full of unique areas for you to explore! Choose
one of the places listed below to visit. Answer the questions about that
location. You only need to visit one to complete the quest, but feel free to
venture out to all three!
1. Buffalo Point. Enjoy the view from the top of a very large hill. Find a
good spot and explore using your senses.
2. Visitor Center Trail. Learn about the amazing rocks found on the island.
3. Beach. Get an up-close look at the critters that call Great Salt Lake home.
JUNIOR RANGER QUEST:
Buffalo Point
Discover Your Senses
Use your five senses to explore your environment. Look, listen, smell, touch,
and taste the area around you. Hike up the hill and find a good place to explore.
What colors do you see? Where did you find them? _________________
________________________________________________________________
The air smells __________________________________________________
The weather feels _______________________________________________
Sit quietly. What do you hear? ____________________________________
JUNIOR RANGER QUEST:
The Beach
Discover Lake Life
The beach is a great place to get right up to the water of Great Salt Lake. The lake may be too
salty for fish, but many other living things do well in the salty habitat! Brine shrimp, algae,
brine flies and their larvae all love the salty water. Brine shrimp and brine flies are a very
important food source for birds.
DIP your finger in the lake. What does it feel like? ________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
TASTE your finger. What does it taste like? _______________________________
SCOOP up a handful of water. Look closely at your sample. What do you see?
________________________________________________________
JUNIOR RANGER QUEST:
Visitor Center Trail
Antelope Island Rocks
Geologists study rocks to learn how the earth formed
and how it has changed over time.
DID YOU KNOW?
The green crusty stuff you
see on the rocks is alive! It’s
called lichen, and it helps
scientists tell if an
environment is healthy.
Use the trail behind the visitor center to explore
the island’s rocks. Choose a rock and see if you can identify it!
Tufa – A white sedimentary rock made of calcium from the lake. It looks a lot like
cement covering other rocks.
Tintic Quartzite – This rock looks like it is made from a bunch of sand or gravel pressed
together. It is a metamorphic rock, made from heat and pressure deep underground.
Banded Gneiss – This rock has swirling stripes of white, pink, and grey and is one of the
oldest rocks in the West (almost 2 billion years old). It is also a metamorphic rock, and
has been changed by heat and pressure deep underground.
Describe your rock: _____________________________________________________
Can you identify your rock as one of those listed above? ____________________
Bison Roundup!
In many Native American myths, bison gave
themselves up willingly as a food source for
humans, so they have a special position of honor
and respect. Every part of the animal was used!
One bison could feed and provide clothing and
materials for an entire family.
Match each part of the bison listed
below with its historical use to
find out more about the
American Bison.
B. Hide
B. Hide
C. Muscle (Meat)
C.
A. Horns
D. Tail
E. Tendons
E. Bladder
F. Hoof
_____ Food
_____ Spoon, Ladle, Cup
_____Clothing
_____Water container
G. Bones
E. Bladder
F.
DID YOU KNOW?
The American Bison is only found in
North America. Its official
scientific name is Bison bison.
_____ Glue
_____ Fly Swatter
_____ Sewing Sinew, Bowstring
BE SAFE! Never approach a bison! They charge if
annoyed and can run up to 40 miles per hour!
Once, tens of millions of bison roamed North America. However, in the 1800s, hunting
brought them close to extinction, In 1893, a group of 12 bison were taken by boat to
Antelope Island for preservation and protection. When Antelope Island became a state park,
the bison herd was in very poor health.
Today, the Antelope Island bison population is in the hundreds. In 1987, the annual Bison
Roundup began in order to manage the herd. Bison are herded by cowboys into corrals to be
checked for health and treated for disease.
There is only enough food and water on the island for 500 bison, so each year dozens are
auctioned at the roundup. The auctioned animals are sent to other herds around the country
to increase genetic diversity. The money raised from the auction helps fund conservation
efforts on Antelope Island.
Today, there are over 350,000 bison in North America.
The herd on Antelope Island is one of the largest and oldest herds in the world.
This is a picture of
a buffalo hide painting
in the Smithsonian National Museum.
It tells us the story of a bison hunt.
How many bison do you count?
_____________
DID YOU KNOW? There are 10 bison on
Antelope Island with green tags in their
ears. They came all the way from Custer
State Park in South Dakota! See if you can
spot one today as you explore!
That’s a Lot of Water!
Antelope Island used to
be under a lot of water.
About 32,000 years ago
Lake Bonneville covered
almost a quarter of what
is now the state of Utah.
The dark area on the
picture is the size of
Great Salt Lake; the light
area is historic Lake
Bonneville.
To learn more about Lake
Bonneville, check out the
displays in the Visitor
Center!
Use the BOLD CAPITAL letters below to find the animal name!
Great Salt Lake is very salty! The ocean is aBout 3.5% salt, while
GSL is 13% on average, and can be as much as 26%!
WateR evaporates In the desert suN, but the salt stays
bEhind. This makes it the perfect habitat for _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ , which are an important food Source for
migrating birds.
THere is also a lot of bacteRia that lives In the water, sometiMes
resulting in a rotten egg smell. If you smell something today,
just remember it’s because GSL is a great Place to live…
if you’re bacteria!
DID YOU KNOW?
In 1870, the local newspaper reported a sea monster lived in the lake!
Water, Water Everywhere?
Most of Utah is a desert. That means water
conservation is very important.
Conservation means using only what you need, in
order to make sure there is enough for everyone.
Do you know how much water you and your
family use? Use the worksheet below to learn more!
Gallons of water
used
Times per day
Gallons per day
(Minutes showering per day)
Shower:
2 gallons per minute
Wash face or hands:
4 gallons
Load of laundry:
30 gallons
Flushing the toilet:
5 gallons
Total Used:______
DID YOU KNOW?
The average family of four uses 400 gallons of water a day!
2,000,000 (two million) people live in the Wasatch Valley. That’s 500,000 families!
How many gallons of water are used in Wasatch Valley per week?
Answer: ____________________________
Write ONE thing your family can change today to save more water:
__________________________________________________________
Plant Find
Botanists study plants and their uses. You can be a botanist today!
While you are walking around Antelope Island State Park, find the
plants in the photos below. Investigate them, and see if you can match
each plant to its description. Draw a line to connect each plant
description to its picture.
Cheat Grass
Desert Sage
Phragmites
Rabbitbrush
This plant is an
invasive species.
The seeds are
sharp and get
caught in
animals’ fur.
This plant is a
small shrub
with fuzzy
leaves. It has a
strong smell
that Native
Americans
would use in
ceremonies.
This plant is very
tall (15ft) and has
fluffy seed heads.
This plant has
skinny leaves.
Its stem is fuzzy
to protect it from
sun and wind. It
is very common
on Antelope Island. Rabbits
love to eat it and
hide under it.
There is a lot of
cheat grass on
the island. It is
only green in the
early summer.
It is an aggressive
invasive plant
outcompeting
native plants, and
displaces native
animals.
Why Are Invasive Plants a Concern?
Invasive plants are plants that came from another area and are now growing where
native plants would normally grow. They grow bigger and faster than native plants.
This means there is less water, soil, and sunlight for the native plants to grow.
On Antelope Island, native plants are the food sources for the animals that live here.
When invasive plants crowd out native ones, animals on the island may not have
enough food.
Biology Bingo
Animals use their amazing senses to find food and learn about their surroundings.
Let’s go on a scavenger hunt to test your powers of observation!
Find everything in one row (down, across, or diagonally) to get a bingo!
A PLANT
TALLER THAN
YOU
A SPIDER
SOMETHING
ROUND
GRASS
A FEATHER
SOMETHING
UNUSUAL
A ROCK WITH
LICHEN
SOMETHING
SOFT
SOMETHING
WHITE
OOLITIC SAND
AN ANIMAL
TRACK
A PLANT SEED
A BRINE
SHRIMP
SOMETHING
THAT MAKES
NOISE
SCAT
(ANIMAL DROPPINGS)
(ROUND SAND GRAINS)
A BISON
DID YOU KNOW?
A hawk can see four times as far as you can!
It’s For The Birds
Great Salt Lake is a very important place for many different kinds of birds.
Thousands of birds use the lake to rest during their long migrations. While
they are here, they eat many brine shrimp and brine flies. Some birds build
nests along the shore and raise their young. Great Salt Lake is one of the
most important places for migratory birds in the world!
Can you match the bird names with the pictures below?
Hint: Bird pictures and names can be found in the visitor center.
A: California Gull
B: Eared Grebe
C: American Avocet
D: White Pelican
E: Black-Neck Stilt F: Wilson’s Phalarope
Home Sweet Habitat
Draw a line to match each desert animal with its habitat (home in nature).
BURROWING OWL
COYOTE
Lives in grasslands, where
there is lots
of food to
catch.
If you were an animal on Antelope Island,
which habitat would you live in?
A. Great Salt Lake
B. Sand
C. Mountains/Cliffs
D. In a Shrub
Draw a picture of you as an animal in your
habitat. Include what you need to survive!
Lives in a burrow
in the dirt, where
it’s nice and cool
in the summer.
MULE DEER
Lives near rocky
hillsides for
protection from
predators.
Wintertime Animal Adaptations
An adaptation is a special behavior or body part that helps an animal survive in its
environment. Every winter, animals on Antelope Island have to adapt to colder weather,
frozen water and less food. How do they survive?
Match the picture to the animal description to learn about each animal’s unique way of
getting through the winter.
What can I do to stay warm while looking for food?
I grow a winter coat of longer, thick fur!
Porcupine
I fly south with my flock in migration
to avoid the cold temperatures.
Cottontail rabbit
In the summer, my fur is brown to help me camouflage.
In the winter, it turns white to match the snow.
Mouse/small rodents
My large back feet act as snowshoes and help me move quickly.
I can also double-digest my food to get more nutrients.
Coyote
I keep warm by grouping with my friends in a herd.
It also helps us watch for predators.
Bird
Weasel
Bison
It’s hard to stay warm when you’re so small!
I burrow under the snow to find food, so I don’t have to go
outside in the wind and cold.
I change what I eat from grasses to tree bark in the winter,
so it’s easier to find food.
I also add a seasonal layer of insulating fat to keep warm.
Fielding Garr Ranch
In the 1850s, before Antelope Island was a State Park, it was owned by the Mormon Church
and operated as a ranch for cattle and sheep. Fielding Garr Ranch is named after the ranch
manager from that time. It is located on the southern end of the island, where there is a
reliable freshwater spring.
The ranch was isolated from Salt Lake City, so
they had to make everything they needed.
Blacksmiths were very important. They made
tools, household items, horseshoes, nails and repaired broken equipment. Blacksmiths also created unique brands to mark the cattle on the ranch,
which permanently identified their owners.
Imagine you are a cattle rancher.
Design and draw your own brand!
Up for a Challenge?
Pick out an interesting tool in the shed and find out what it was used for!
_______________________________________________________
Life on the Ranch
Fielding Garr Ranch was a home from 1848 to 1981.
Over the years, many different people lived and worked there.
Children were an important part of day-to-day work on the ranch.
Girls helped their mothers by gathering eggs, water, and wood for the fire,
and sewing, cleaning, and cooking. Boys helped their fathers in the field, took
care of farm animals and cattle, chopped wood, and harvested crops.
Imagine you lived a day as a child growing up on Antelope Island.
Write a journal entry about what you did that day:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
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BONUS CHALLENGE
Can you find something being used in a different way than it was made for?
(Hint: Look around the kitchen in the Ranch house!)
What did you find? _________________________________________________
Dark Sky
Galileo said, “I love the stars too much to be afraid of the dark.”
Humans need light to see when it’s dark outside, but where should that light go?
Light Pollution is a term used by scientists when light goes up in the dark sky instead of
shining where it is needed. Light pollution keeps us from seeing the stars well, and can
harm nocturnal animals and migrating birds.
Put an X through the wasteful lamps and circle the good ones!
Ways to Conserve Light at Home
Use a yellow/amber light instead
of bright white.
Turn lights off when not in use.
Point light down to the ground.
Install the light closer to the ground.
Only use the amount of brightness
you need.
DID YOU KNOW?
In 2017, Antelope Island became
an International Dark Sky Park.
That means it’s a great place to
come watch meteor showers,
stargaze, or even look at a full
moon.
Star Stories: Use the space below to create your own
constellation. Tell a friend the story about what it is!
What Does a Ranger Do?
Park rangers have many types of jobs. As a Junior Ranger, you can
help park rangers to protect and preserve Antelope Island State Park
and every other park you visit.
Rangers help educate the public (that’s you and your friends) by
teaching them about the park.
Rangers keep the park and visitors safe, help hurt or lost visitors,
and protect the resources inside the park.
Now that you are a Junior Ranger, we offer you a challenge.
We challenge you to protect the earth and its resources everywhere you go.
You can do things like…
Clean up an area at home, in your neighborhood, or at the park.
Pick up litter you find and put it in the garbage can.
Talk about Antelope Island State Park to your class at school.
Tell your friends what a great place it is and teach them what
you know!
Become a Junior Ranger at other parks!
Come back often to attend other Ranger Programs, so you can
update your skills and learn new ones.
Check out Utah’s other state parks at: www.stateparks.utah.gov
Junior Ranger Pledge
I pledge to help protect the plants and animals of Antelope Island State Park,
to share what I have learned with others,
and to be a friend to all the natural places I explore.
Certificate of Achievement
Awarded to:
For the completion of the Junior Ranger Program
at
Antelope Island State Park
______________________________
Date
___________________________________
Ranger/Naturalist