WV Outdoor Learning Center letting teachers use collection of animal furs, bones in classroom

As educators become more creative about teaching, the West Valley Outdoor Learning Center is stepping up to offer its collection of animal furs, bones and skulls to teachers interested in using the supplies to help their students learn about animals.

Most of the bones and furs have been donated to the center, either by private citizens or the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, said center director Jami Ostby-Marsh.

“There is never a limited supply of weird stuff that people donate to us,” she said.

The Outdoor Learning Center, located on East Upriver Drive next to Pasadena Park Elementary School, houses several raptors as well as reptiles and other animals. There’s a small natural area and trails out back for further exploring. The center usually hums with activity as classes of students come to hear center staff teach lessons on animals, their habitat and the environment, but with that not an option during the pandemic, the staff wanted to come up with a way to still get students learning, Ostby-Marsh said.

“There is some positive unintended consequences,” she said. “We’ve really turned to ways to help our schools at a distance.”

The center has the furs and bones available for teachers to check out. Each item is labeled and the collections come with fact sheets and plenty of information for teachers to pass on to their students.

“Teachers don’t have to know a lot,” she said.

The fur collection includes elk, coyote and polar bear fur. Students can learn about the different types of fur and try to guess by feeling it what kind of habitat the animal might live in, Ostby-Marsh said.

There’s also a tub full of bones and animal skulls. “The bone tub is cool,” she said. “That’s our favorite lesson to do here. Kids love bones.”

Part of the lesson is to let kids do the exploring.

“We always teach the lessons like a mystery,” she said. “They look at teeth and the skull shape and size and try to guess what the animal might eat. If the skull is this big, how big do you think the body would be?”

Many of the furs and bones, with the exception of the polar bear fur, come from animals that live in the region.

“It introduces students to the animals that might be living in their neighborhoods,” she said.

The bones and furs are free for any teacher to check out, not just teachers in the West Valley School District.

“We’re trying to help the rest of the community help kids engage,” she said.

And if a teacher is interested in a lesson involving the furs or bones but doesn’t feel comfortable teaching it, the Outdoor Learning Center staff can help with a Zoom session for the class, Ostby-Marsh said.

“We can set up us coming into their classroom,” she said.

Everything will be cleaned and sanitized between uses. The rental program has just begun and nothing has been checked out yet, but Ostby-Marsh said she has heard from a couple of interested teachers.

Anyone interested in checking out the bones or furs can email the center at olcinfo@wvsd.org or call (509) 340-1028.