Aquatic Insects Discovery Kit

Looking for a fun way to spend time in nature with your child? With the completion of every kit, participants will have an opportunity to draw a Watershed Map Question and win a prize!

Discovery Kits are available to use at the park for up to two hours for a fee of $3. The Kits are of various natural history topics and offer outdoor learning and exploration at the park for children ages 5 to 12 accompanied by an adult. Each kit is equipped for two participants and are ideal for homeschool students.

Inside each kit you will find:

• Step-by-step instructions which will help the adult both guide the lesson and feel like an authority on the topic while utilizing the kit with children.
• A story book which helps prepare everyone for the lesson and gets children excited about the topic.
• Lesson materials presented in the form of laminated cards which enable the adult to prep the children for the hands-on component of the kit and answer any questions that may come up during the activity.
• Lesson props which help bring the lesson materials to life! Props are intended for children to handle and explore on their own.
• Two sets of kid-sized and kid-friendly equipment for the hands-on component of the lesson as well as step-by-step instructions.
• Once the kits are returned to the office and inventoried, the children receive a take-home postcard related to the kit topic so that the learning can continue at home.

• Rock Cracking
  Rocks from both the Siskiyou and Cascade Mountains can be found at North Mountain Park. Rocks from both mountain ranges tumble downhill and eventually make their way into Bear Creek. During floods, Bear Creek overspills its banks and deposits a wide variety of rocks into the Overflow Channel. In this activity you will have fun cracking open rocks and becoming a geologist for the day. See if you can identify the mountain range your rock came from!


• Aquatic Insects
  Explore the ponds at N MT Park and learn more about this important food source for other wetland animals. In this activity you will use dip nets to carefully collect aquatic insects in the pond and then observe them in viewing boxes before releasing them.


• Owl Pellets
  You may not see an owl during your visit to North Mountain Park, but you can discover what it eats by dissecting one of its pellets! This is a fascinating introduction to food webs and is always popular with children. Kids have fun using their puzzle skills and playing detective as they piece together the skeltons of small mammals.


• Animal Homes
  Discover the secretive world of animals as you look for animal signs and tracks of BEARS, COYOTES, HAWKS, AND TURTLES. Make a caste of a track that you can take home. Explore the animal homes as you role play what it might be like to be an adult animal taking care of its young.

Back to Educational Opportunities at North Mountain Park
Back to Visiting the Park
Back to Self-Guided Park Tour
Back to North Mountain Park Natural Area
Back to Homeschool Opportunities at North Mountain Park

Visit the North Mountain Park home page or call 541.488.6606. You may also visit the Ashland Parks & Recreation home page or call 541.488.5340 for more information.