All Texas schools and organizations with the desire to educate the youth of Texas can reserve a Discovery Trunk.

 

Discovery Trunks are: 

  • Full of hands-on, natural resource materials and lessons 
  • Free for groups of 65+ students in Texas
  • Reserved for 2-weeks 
  • Available for (online) reservation – each location may reserve (will be shipped) 3 per semester

To begin the reservation process, select your school’s county below.

Discovery Trunks 101:

Adaptation Investigations

CD Items, Inventory, Test, TEKS, Table of Contents

Our Adaptation Investigations Discovery Trunk allows students to examine the clues animals leave behind and participate in animal identification exercises. Learn about animal adaptations by investigating skulls from 14 native Texas animals along with molds of their tracks and replicas of their scat.

Animal Adaptations

CD Items, Inventory, Test, TEKS, Table of Contents

Your students can explore the major vertebrate groups of select native Texas animals by examining their pelts, skulls, tracks, and more. Students will learn to use field guides, books, and bird calls as tools to further explore animal adaptations.

Bats-A-Billion

CD Items, Inventory, Test, TEKS, Table of Contents

There are over 1,100 species of bats, accounting for 1/5 of the mammal species in the world. Bats are nocturnal, flying mammals that live in a variety of habitats. Learn about unique adaptations that allow bats to echolocate, fly, and hang upside down and explore why they hibernate and migrate.

Bird Adaptations

CD Items, Inventory, Test, TEKS, Table of Contents

Texas is home to over 600 different species of birds and they are quite diverse. They have a wide variety of adaptations including coloration, beak types, feet and legs, and more. This trunk will explore bird adaptations and includes items such as foot and skull models, feathers, books, and lessons focused on adaptations.

Butterflies Flutter By

CD Items, Inventory, Test, TEKS, Table of Contents

There are between 15,000 and 20,000 species of butterfly in the world and hundreds of species in Texas alone. This trunk investigates all aspects of these delicate creatures including their life cycle, migration, and their role in the natural world. Get hands on with real butterfly models and learn about their unique adaptations.

Life of a Bird

CD Items, Inventory, Test, TEKS, Table of Contents

All birds have the same life cycle from egg -> chick -> adult, but there are many differences along the way. This trunk will delve into the life cycle and life of a bird, including behavior, migration, songs, and human encounters. Materials include life cycle posters, egg models, calls, migration maps, and books and lessons.

More Than a Drop

CD Items, Inventory, Test, TEKS, Table of Contents

This trunk opens students’ eyes to the various facets of water, from raindrops to aquifers.  Students will be challenged to think about where water comes from, how it got there, where it ends up, and how it is being used.  CONSERVATION is the main message!