Traveling Trunks

Tree Trunks explore the world of trees and help supplement your curriculum by providing lesson plans and interactive tools to use both in and outside the classroom. These education kits, developed by Wells Reserve educators and generously funded by the Laird Norton Foundation and the Maine TREE Foundation, are available for two different age groups — elementary school and middle/high school. Both Tree Trunks are aligned with Maine Learning Results.

In the Trunk:

• tree identification guides
• "tree cookie" samples
• leaf games
• books, posters, and videos
• Project Learning Tree curriculum guide
• resource binder

Additions in the Middle/High School Trunk:

• soil thermometers
• calipers
• tangent height gauges
• soil acidity and moisture meters

Fees (for 1 / 2 / 3 weeks)

Elementary School Tree Trunk: $25 / $35 / $50
Middle/High School Tree Trunk: $25 / $50 / $75

The Estuaries Trunk introduces students to the dynamic and unique estuarine ecosystem through fun games, activities, books and hands-on science. This education kit was developed by Wells Reserve educators and is tailored to the elementary school level with attention to the Maine Learning Results (2007).

Taken as separate activities or as a whole unit on estuarine habitats, the Estuaries Trunk is a fantastic resource to help bring estuaries into the classroom and encourage students to get out and explore their own watersheds.

In the Trunk:

• tools for water quality testing
• 3-D watershed model
• sand samples from estuaries around the country
• water cycle teaching materials
• informational books, posters, and puppets
• resource binder with activity write-ups, background articles, and ideas for getting students involved in service learning projects

Fee (for 1 / 2 / 3 weeks)

$25 / $50 / $75

The Feathered Friends Trunk investigates the world of birds through games, observation, reading and creating. This education kit was developed by Wells Reserve educators and is a great fit for the elementary school level with attention to the Maine Learning Results (2007).

The resource binder holds lesson plans for seven units, including Flight and Migration, Adaptations, Nests and Eggs, and Conservation. Used as a supplement to an existing in-school curriculum, or as a unit on its own, the Feathered Friends Trunk brings the study of birds into the classroom while providing connections to outdoor exploration and observation.

In the Trunk:

• binoculars
• IdentiFlyer
• skull, track, and egg replicas
• owl pellets and dissection tools
• bird bones
• puppets
• books, posters, and interactive cards

Fee (for 1 / 2 / 3 weeks)

$25 / $50 / $75

Explore New England wildlife with your students by getting a close-up look at animal artifacts. The Safari in a Box was developed by Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

In the Trunk:

• animal pelts
• skull, track, and scat replicas
• activity guides
• informational brochures and posters

Fee (for 1 / 2 / 3 weeks)

Free, thanks to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.