The Playa Interpretive Kit
Welcome to the Beach! Where’s the Water?
Information highlights the emigrant experience of the playa. The kit also explores the existence of Ancient Lake Lahontan and scientific discovery that has taught us so much about this great water body that existed during the Pleistocene Epoch. Activities include: What Happened to the Lake? – Students learn about the formation of the lake, the water cycle and everyday evaporation. It includes an evaporation experiment to help students visualize the disappearance of the great lake. Mud Fossils Lesson Plan – Students explore what we can learn about the earth during prehistoric times from fossils. Students have the opportunity to study fossils and excavate mud fossils that they’ve made.
| Visitor Information Contents The Playa Interpretation Brochures Pens (three) Legal Pads Markers (five) Volunteer Opportunities Frequently Asked Questions |
PreHistory Ancient Animals: Camel, Dire Wolf, Ground Sloth, Horse, Mastodon, Sabertooth Cat, Short Faced Bear, Wooly Mammoth How do Humans Stack Up? The Playa PreHistory PreHistory Time Clock Timeline Secrets of the Packrat Lake Lahontan Maps (two) |
History Black Rock Battle Ground Emigrant History - The Playa Emigrant Provisions Paiute Indians Women Headed West |
| Profiles Chief Winnemucca Sarah Winnemucca |
Plants Big Sagebrush, Bitterbrush, Cattail, Crosby Buckwheat, Curl Leaf Mountain Mahogany, Desert Saltgrass, Grasses, Greasewood, Great Basin Wild Rye, Grimy Ivesia, Indian Ricegrass, Noxious Weeds, Quaking Aspen, Rushes, Russian Thistle, Sagbrush, Schoolcraft Catseye, Sedges, Shadescale, Shrubs, Smooth Stickleaf, Tiehm Milkvetch, Tule, Utah Juniper, Willows, Windloving Buckwheat, Wood’s Rose |
Mammals American Quarter Horse Color and Markings Reference Chart, Badger, Black-Tailed Jack Rabbit, Bobcat, California Bighorn Sheep, Coyote, Desert Cottontail, Desert Woodrat, Fringed Myotis, Kangaroo Rat, Kit Fox, Long-Eared Myotis, Long-Legged Myotis, Long-Tailed Weasel, Mountain Lion, Mule Deer, Porcupine, Pronghorn Antelope, Pygmy Rabbit, Small-Footed Myotis, Stripped Skunk, Western Spotted Skunk, WhiteTailed Antelope Squirrel, Wild Burro, Wild Horse, Yuma Myotis |
| Birds American Avocet, American White Pelican, BlackBilled Magpie, Black Tern, Chukar Partridge, Golden Eagle, Greater Sage Grouse, Least Bittern, LongBilled Curlew, Northern Harrier, RedTailed Hawk, WhiteFaced Ibis |
Fish Channel Catfish, Goldfish, Green Sunfish, Lahonton Cutthroat Trout, LargeMouth Black Bass, Speckled Dace, Tahoe Sucker, TuiChub |
Reptiles Desert Horned Lizard, Desert Spiny Lizard, Gopher Snake, Great Basin Collared Lizard, Leopard Lizard, Shorthorned Lizard, Speckled Rattlesnake, Western Banded Gecko, Zebra Tailed Lizard |
| Insects Black Widow, Brown Recluse, California Giant Stonefly, Chiggers, Mayfly, Mormon Cricket, Zebra Caddisfly |
Outdoor Ethics Leave No Trace Introduction Overviews of Principles 1-7 Leave What You Find Spread the Word…Not Weeds Tread Lightly! |
Activities Emigrant Trail Game: Directions, Emigration Facts, Two Spinners (doublesided), Answer Cards Evaporation Experiment Word Search |
| Recreation Burning Man |
Geology The Playa Itself: Black Rock, Tufa Rock Desert Biome Desert Formation Lake Lahontan: Remnant Lakes, What Happened to the Lake? Ancient Shorelines Sea Stacks North American Deserts |
Lesson Plans Mud Fossils Ecological Pyramids |
| Safety | Resources |
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