While upper grades tackled standardized testing this week, Fort Davis’s youngest students got an unforgettable hands-on science lesson. On a special field trip to the courthouse, kindergartners through second graders explored the natural world of the Trans-Pecos region, thanks to a visit from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Trans-Pecos Wildlife District.
Jeff Davis County Wildlife Biologist Olivia Gray Parker and District Leader James Weaver led a lively session using their popular “skins, skulls, and tracks” program, introducing local wildlife through interactive demonstrations.
Students learned how to identify animals by their tracks, discovered the difference between horns and antlers, and explored camouflage and predator-prey relationships. The highlight for many: making bear track casts they could take back to class.
The program brings science to life in a way textbooks can’t, and offers a special opportunity for kids in rural areas to connect with the land around them. With wildlife biology becoming an increasingly important field for conservation and ranchland management, this early exposure plants seeds for future curiosity—and maybe even careers.
Image Credit: TPWD
