Clover the Horse
Neigh! I'm Clover, and the trails at this park are my favorite place to trot.
There are miles and miles of them, and two sources can't agree how many. Let's play detective!
What lives in a park this big?
Johns Island County Park is more than 700 acres of trails, fields, and woods. Two sources even disagree about how many miles of trail there are! A good scientist reads carefully and notices when numbers do not match.
A big park
Mullet Hall Equestrian Center sits inside a park of 738 acres, says Charleston County Parks (CCPRC).
Trail miles
CCPRC says the park has 20 miles of trails winding through southern pines and moss-draped oaks, beside open meadows and farm fields.
A different count
The National Recreation Trails site lists 19 miles for the same trail system. Two sources, two numbers.
Four habitats
The trails pass through a swamp, active farm fields, deep forest, and meadows.
Tap a card, then tap the bin it belongs in: Estimate (about) or Exact Measurement.
Tap a card, then tap the bin: is it a habitat on the park list, or NOT on the list?
Tap a card, then tap the bin: Real or Imaginary?
Clover the Horse
Neigh! It's me again. I know a thing or two about hooves, because I walk on four of them.
Let's find out how a horse is built, from the withers down to the frog.
How is a horse built for the trail?
From hoof to withers, a horse's body has clues about how it lives. Read the cards, then use the facts to solve the puzzles. Every answer is on the cards!
A hand
Horse height is measured in hands. One hand equals 4 inches.
The withers
Height is measured at the highest point of the withers, the bump where the neck meets the back.
How tall?
Arabian horses usually stand around 15 hands tall.
Hoof parts
A hoof has three main parts: the wall, the sole, and the frog. The wall has a toe (front), quarters (sides), and a heel.
The frog
The frog is a tough, V-shaped part. It helps absorb shock and gives the hoof traction. Hooves have no pain receptors, like human nails.
Small meals
A horse's stomach holds about 3 to 5 gallons. Horses eat small meals for at least 16 hours each day.
Grazing time
Horses that live on pasture graze 10 to 12 hours a day.
Here is the bottom of a hoof. Tap the V-shaped frog.
Tap the withers, the place where a horse's height is measured.
The hoof wall has a toe (front), quarters (sides), and heel. Tap the quarters.
Comet the Unicorn (Imaginary example)
Imaginary example: Comet the unicorn trotted in from a story, not real life, to help with the counting.
Comet loves numbers almost as much as sparkly hooves. Let's measure the park together!
Can numbers measure a horse park?
Barns, trails, and disc golf holes are all full of numbers. Use addition, rounding, multiplication, area, and time to crack the problems. Keep scratch paper nearby!
Numbers on the cards come from real sources. Par in this quest means the number of throws a disc golf hole is planned to take. Problems that start with Imaginary example: are made up for practice.
Two barns
Mullet Hall has two barns with 98 stalls each, for horses at shows.
Park size
The park is 738 acres, says CCPRC.
Old Grove Disc Golf
The course has 18 holes with a total par of 60. It is about 6,353 feet long.
One hand
One hand of horse height equals 4 inches.
Rivet the Snake
Ssssup! I'm Rivet. I slither through the grass wherever the sun warms the ground.
Every animal here has a neighborhood that gives it what it needs. Let's find out which!
Who lives along the trail?
A swamp, a farm field, a forest, and a meadow are four different neighborhoods. Each one can give animals food, water, shelter, and space. Let's see who might live where!
What is a habitat?
A habitat is a place where food, water, shelter, and space are arranged in a way that is suitable for an animal to survive.
Wild turkey home
Eastern wild turkeys like mixed pine and hardwood woods with fields or wildlife openings.
Turkey food
Turkeys eat seeds, grain, acorns, and insects. Young turkeys eat mostly insects.
Turkey bedtime
Turkeys roost in trees at night and start looking for food at daylight.
Snakes
South Carolina has 38 snake species and only six are venomous. All snakes are nonaggressive when left alone.
Park animals
Wildlife on the trail system includes bald eagles, wild turkeys, and alligators.
Imaginary example map. Wild turkeys sleep in trees at night. Tap the habitat where a turkey could roost.
Imaginary example map. Turkeys eat seeds and grain. Tap the habitat where a turkey could find grain.
Imaginary example map. Turkeys like woods mixed with fields. Tap the spot where forest meets field.
Sage the Owl
Hoo there! It's Sage. I've watched many trails get stomped flat by feet and hooves.
Let's test what packing does to soil. Careful and curious, that is how scientists work.
Does packed soil change how water soaks in?
Trails get walked on again and again. Can you test what packing does to soil? A fair test changes only one thing and keeps everything else the same.
Predict
Many feet and hooves can press a trail down. Predict: will water soak in faster or slower on packed soil than on loose soil?
Set up a fair test
Put the same amount of dry soil in each cup. Press one cup's soil down firmly with the spoon. Leave the other loose.
Pour and watch
Slowly pour the same amount of water (about 1/4 cup) onto each. Start the timer. Look at 30 seconds and again at 2 minutes.
Record
Write what you saw in each cup: how much water was still on top, and how fast it soaked in. Compare the evidence with your prediction.
Tap two items to swap them until they are in the order you would really do the test, then check your order.
Tap two items to swap them until they are in the order a scientist usually works, then check your order.
Sort each thing: do you keep it the SAME, or CHANGE it on purpose?
Sort each statement: True about this experiment, or Not quite right.
Clover the Horse
Neigh! Clover here. The best part of a trail is the one you actually ride (or walk) yourself.
Let's pack your field guide before we head out to the real park.
Build a trail guide. Test a claim.
A scientist brings questions outside instead of deciding the answers beforehand. Draw a map, predict what you will find, and bring your field guide with you.
Tap exactly THREE things you want to investigate at the real park.
Observe, compare, and give animals room.
Clover the Horse
Neigh-hooray! You've collected every trail marker.
Now go test your thinking at the real trails, then come tell me what you found.
Certified Trail Explorer
You've practiced making predictions, analyzing evidence, calculating with real data, and comparing habitats. Now test your thinking in the field.