Fourth graders take field trip

Hulett fourth graders have earnestly been studying indigenous tribes of Wyoming as part of Wyoming History. An element of the indigenous tribe unit is how these people utilized the buffalo in many aspects of their daily life.

The class finished a read aloud of Naya Nuki, the story of a Shoshone girl who was captured with Sacajawea but escaped and tried to survive independently on the way back to her people. This story was filled with daily life.

To further deepen the study of tribal daily life, the class next enjoyed a field trip to Deer Creek Taxidermy of Hulett with the driving motivation of seeing buffalo artifacts in person. Bobbi started the presentation by allowing students to feel a buffalo hide that had been tanned.

She explained the current tanning method compared to how indigenous people would have tanned a hide. Many students were surprised at the thickness of the hide and quickly realized the warmth it would have provided to the indigenous people.

The students were also allowed to wear the hide like a blanket to feel the heaviness. To say the hide 'swallowed them' in size would be an understatement!

The students were then shown two skulls, which they were allowed to compare, one of which was much larger due to the age at which it was harvested.

Bobbi, JR and Austin explained their craft of taxidermy, showed students around the shop filled with various animals, and most importantly answered the students' questions, which ranged widely from biology of animals to the more historical.

The students glowed with excitement and will remember their time for many years. The Butler family and Deer Creek Taxidermy made this quick field trip a successful and memorable one for these fourth graders.