Exploring Yellowstone

This summer, Mr. Doug Morrison and Mrs. Stacey Morrison led a trip of a dozen middle school students to Yellowstone National Park.  Students planned activities that included visiting Old Faithful, taking photography of wildlife, learning from the Yellowstone Forever Institute, and whitewater rafting.  Along the way, they were responsible for cleaning the cabin, preparing dinners and lunches, and traveling together. Here's the recap from the Morrison's.  

 
Picture this: it’s five a.m. in the morning, and we’re gathering a dozen middle school students at Davidson Day before a bus trip to Charlotte-Douglas International Airport.  And there’s no coffee. Why are we doing this, and where might we be going?

We’re traveling to the land of the Big Sky, the state of Montana, to visit Yellowstone National Park, one of our country’s most popular and most important parks.  In addition to a phenomenal opportunity to visit the park and learn from park rangers and the Yellowstone Forever Institute, there were a number of learning opportunities for our students in traveling and making the trip as well.

Students learned what it takes to travel by plane with a large group of people.  They participated in renting our 15-passenger van and loading in our equipment. Students assisted in shopping for the necessary supplies for the week-long trip, and did so in a city in which they’d spent less than an hour.  And, students also enjoyed the opportunity to live in a house big enough for 23 people on the northern boundary of the park. Throughout our stay, students were responsible for cleaning and preparing evening meals as well as brown bag lunches for the next day.

After we’d settled into our lodging, we reviewed the plan for the week.  First, we would visit Old Faithful, arriving just in time to see the geyser in action.  Then, we’d enjoy a program with park rangers and the Yellowstone Forever Institute, and be trained on how to use digital cameras to document the rest of our trip.  And that was just the first day!

On our second day, we studied mudpots, geysers, and hot springs, visiting several locations inside of the park to observe, document, and enjoy.  Day three consisted of wildlife spotting, which we kicked off by viewing nesting owls and owlets. We traversed lesser-traveled sections of the park to find and photograph a grizzly bear, a family of black bears, an osprey’s nest, mountain goats, a moose, and a seemingly countless population of elk and bison.  

Students also enjoyed a whitewater rafting trip down the Yellowstone River and completing a challenge course zipline adventure tour.  We were all treated to a special cookout with hot dogs and plenty of s’mores to roast over open flame. It was delicious!

By the time we returned to campus, we had learned a lot, and we had done a lot.  One of the best parts about Davidson Day is our community’s focus on global education, and we are so thrilled that we were able to coordinate a wonderful trip to one of the world’s most notable parks and provide an excellent, high-quality experiential education for our middle schoolers.
 
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