Six evidence-based missions in about an hour. Then a real-world expedition into a real Lowcountry wetland.
6 mini missions55–70 active minutesWorks offline
FIELD MISSION 002
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Choose a chapter
Your mission map
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Mission 01 · Historian's case fileAbout 8 minutes
What was this wetland built to do?
Caw Caw Interpretive Center looks like a wild swamp today, but for more than 100 years it was engineered rice fields. Enslaved Africans and African Americans brought deep farming knowledge from West and Central Africa and used it to turn Lowcountry swamps into working rice fields.
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Rice trunks
A trunk is a wooden water gate. Workers used trunks to flood a field with water, then later drain it — controlling water on purpose.
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West African know-how
The trunk system came from West African water-control devices. Enslaved workers adapted the idea, using cypress wood in place of the hollowed palm trunks used in West Africa.
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Trunk minders
Some enslaved workers became expert trunk minders. They knew exactly how much water a rice field needed at each stage of growing.
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Still here today
You can still see the earthen dikes, canals, and rice trunks built more than 200 years ago when you walk the trails at Caw Caw.
Detective thinking: This land wasn't naturally a rice field — it was carefully engineered by skilled people who were enslaved and forced to do this work. Their knowledge and effort shaped the landscape you can still see today.
Also part of this story: In 1739, more than 100 enslaved people passed through this area during the Stono Rebellion — one of the largest uprisings against slavery in Britain's American colonies — as they marched toward freedom. Caw Caw is part of the National Park Service's Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.
Write two thoughtful responses to collect your first stamp.
Mission 02 · Wetland detectiveAbout 12 minutes
What does a wetland actually do?
A wetland isn't just “wasted” wet land — it does real jobs. Plants and soil in a healthy wetland can clean water and help control flooding for the land around it.
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Nature's filter
Wetland plants and soil can trap dirt and soak up extra nutrients, so water leaving a wetland is often cleaner than water going in.
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Flood sponge
Wetlands act like a sponge: they soak up rain and floodwater, then release it slowly, which can lower flood heights downstream.
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Slow water, less erosion
Wetland plants slow down moving water. Slower water carries away less soil, so it causes less erosion.
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A living system
Fish, birds, insects, and plants all depend on a healthy wetland. If one part changes, it can affect the whole system.
Apply what you learned
1. A big storm dumps a lot of rain upstream from a wetland. Which is the best prediction?
2. A friend says, "Wetlands are just useless mud." What is the strongest evidence against that claim?
Answer both questions correctly and explain your evidence.
Mission 03 · Real tide mathAbout 12 minutes
Can numbers describe moving water?
Tides don't happen at the same time every day — real tides shift by about 50 minutes later each day because of how the moon and Earth move together. The chart below is a labeled SAMPLE for practicing elapsed time, not a real tide prediction for a specific date.
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Why tides shift
The real reason tides move to a new time each day: the moon takes a little longer than 24 hours to circle back to the same spot in our sky, so high and low tide arrive about 50 minutes later each day.
1. SAMPLE tide chart: high tide is at 7:15 AM. Low tide is 6 hours and 12 minutes later. About what time is low tide?
2. Imaginary counting example: A pretend unicorn herd visits the marsh boardwalk 4 times a week, and 7 unicorns come each visit. How many unicorn visits is that in one week?
3. Using the real fact that tides shift about 50 minutes later each day, if high tide is at 7:15 AM today, about what time will high tide be tomorrow?
4. On the SAMPLE chart, low tide is at 1:27 PM and the next high tide is 6 hours and 13 minutes later. About what time is the next high tide?
Bonus curiosity: If tides shift about 50 minutes later every day, about how many minutes later would a tide be after 3 days? What would you need to do to find out?
A healthy wetland is home to many different animals — some you'll see, and some you'll only find evidence of, like tracks, feathers, or trails through the grass.
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American alligators
Caw Caw's wetlands are home to American alligators. Stay on the boardwalk and trails — never approach one.
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Swallow-tailed kites
These striking black-and-white birds have been seen at Caw Caw. They catch insects and small prey while flying over the wetlands.
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Bald eagles
Bald eagles have been documented at Caw Caw, often near open water where they hunt for fish.
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River otters and deer
River otters and white-tailed deer also use the site's wetlands and woods.
1. You find a trail of large, four-toed footprints leading from the marsh water up onto a muddy bank, with a wide drag mark between them. Which animal from the cards above is the best match for this evidence?
2. You see a bird gliding low and fast over the marsh, snatching a dragonfly out of the air, with a deeply forked black-and-white tail. Which animal is the best match?
Claim + Evidence
A claim is what you think happened. Evidence is the fact that supports it. Write one claim and two pieces of evidence.
Choose the evidence-based answers and write a supported claim.
Mission 05 · Real scientist labAbout 14 minutes
Can dirty water get cleaner on its own?
Wetlands help clean water as it passes through soil, sand, and plant roots. You can build a simple model of this using layers in a funnel — one part of the story, not the whole wetland.
Materials: a clear jar or cup, a funnel (or a plastic bottle with the bottom cut off by a grown-up), a few tablespoons each of gravel, sand, and cotton balls or a coffee filter, a cup of muddy/murky water (stir a little dirt into water), and a timer. Ask your grown-up before cutting anything. Keep water away from your device.
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Predict
Build layers in the funnel: cotton or a coffee filter on the bottom, then sand, then gravel on top. Predict what the muddy water will look like after it drips through.
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Observe
Slowly pour the muddy water through the layers into a clear jar. Look at the water once it finishes dripping through.
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Reason
Compare the water before and after. The layers modeled how wetland soil and roots can trap dirt and slow down water — but a real wetland also has living plants and microorganisms doing extra work this model can't.
Which statement most accurately connects this experiment to a real wetland?
Make a prediction, record two observations, and explain your result.
Mission 06 · Prepare for the real worldAbout 8 minutes
Build a field guide. Test a claim.
A scientist brings questions outside instead of deciding the answers beforehand. Draw a model, predict what you'll observe, and bring your field guide with you.
Sketch how you think the Caw Caw wetland and rice fields looked long ago, or how they look today — your choice.
A fieldwork hypothesis
Caw Caw has both wetter marsh areas and drier trail areas. What do you predict you will notice about plants and animal signs in a wet area versus a dry area? What evidence would you collect?
Your on-site mission · Caw Caw Interpretive Center
Observe, compare, and respect the wetland and its history.
This site is CLOSED on Mondays. CLOSED. Caw Caw is open Tuesday–Sunday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m., and is closed on Mondays except Memorial Day and Labor Day. Plan the actual site visit for a day it's open, then come back to this page and check off the boxes below after you go — don't treat this as a same-day Monday trip.
Park-listed Monday hours are CLOSED. Caw Caw is open Tuesday–Sunday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m., and is closed on Mondays except Memorial Day and Labor Day.. The Exhibit Center is currently closed for renovation (per the official listing as of verification date). Pets and bicycles are not permitted anywhere on the property, to protect the wetland habitat. Caw Caw is CLOSED on Mondays (open Tuesday–Sunday, 9 AM–5 PM, except it's open on Memorial Day and Labor Day). Plan this on-site visit for another day this week — the classroom missions above can still happen on Monday. Stay on trails and boardwalks: alligators live in these wetlands. No pets or bicycles are allowed anywhere on the property.
Draw a model, write three questions, and plan your observation.
6 missions completedThe adventure starts here!
Certified Wetland Investigator
You've practiced making predictions, analyzing evidence, calculating with real data, and comparing habitats. Now test your thinking in the field.
Marsh Detective Academy proudly awards
Remi
the title of
Certified Wetland Investigator
Evidence is a detective's superpower.
Completed 6 checked missions
One final science challenge after your trip: Was your prediction right? Use at least two observations from the actual wetland. Scientists can change their minds when they get new evidence.
RMarsh Detective Academy3rd-Grade Adventure
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Marsh Detective Field Guide
Six evidence-based missions in about an hour. Then a real-world expedition into a real Lowcountry wetland.
Name: Remi Date: _______________
RMarsh Detective AcademyMission 1 of 6
What was this wetland built to do?
Your prediction (2 sentences): Why might it take real skill and knowledge to flood a field with exactly the right amount of water, at exactly the right time?
Explain: How is opening and closing a wooden trunk gate on purpose different from a swamp just filling up with rain on its own?
RMarsh Detective AcademyMission 2 of 6
What does a wetland actually do?
Explain in 2–3 sentences: Why might a town downstream from a healthy wetland have fewer flooding problems than a town downstream from a paved parking lot?
RMarsh Detective AcademyMission 3 of 6
Can numbers describe moving water?
Show your reasoning for at least one problem. Use an equation AND explain what your answer means.
RMarsh Detective AcademyMission 4 of 6
Who lives in this wetland?
Claim: If you found fresh, wet, slide-shaped marks going from a muddy bank into the water, what animal might have made them, and what might it have been doing?
Evidence 1 and 2: Use at least two facts from the cards above.
RMarsh Detective AcademyMission 5 of 6
Can dirty water get cleaner on its own?
My prediction (before you test):
What the water looked like BEFORE filtering:
What the water looked like AFTER filtering:
What happened? Did the evidence support your prediction?
Explain in your own words (2 sentences): Why did the water look different after passing through the layers, and how is a real wetland more complicated?
RMarsh Detective AcademyOn-Site Investigation
Field Expedition
Write three things you want to investigate outside.
My prediction and plan for gathering evidence:
My drawing
Observations at the site
□ Sketch a real rice trunk or dike. How does it compare with your model? □ Find evidence of three living things in or near the water. □ Compare a wet marsh area with a drier trail area. What's different about the plants? □ Look for a real animal track, feather, or other sign of wildlife. □ Use one observation as evidence for or against a prediction.