Wildlife Education Trunks

Bring the outside into your classroom with these unique hands-on, interdisciplinary teaching tools! These education trunks are designed to educate students while building on fundamental disciplines like math, art, social studies, science, language arts, and physical education. Each trunk contains:

  • Educator guide with background information, lesson plans, and K-12 activities
  • Hand-on items such as furs, videos, prepped activity supplies, books, and more

How To Reserve Trunks

Education trunks are available free to educators in Maryland for a 1-2 week period, depending on availability. Please contact the location nearest you to reserve an education trunk (see map with trunk locations and contacts at the bottom of the page). You will be responsible for picking up and dropping off the education trunk(s) at their appropriate location.


Types of Education Trunks Available:

White-tailed Deer Education TrunkWhite-tailed Deer Education Trunk contents

Learn more about one of our most common mammals: the white-tailed deer! The trunk includes: an educator’s guide, children’s books, a deer sound CD, deer hide, antler, antler buttons, DVDs, a track mold, scat replica, and replica skull with jawbone. Also included is a Project Wild guide, a PowerPoint on white-tailed deer, and a jawbone aging key.


 

Black Bear Education Trunk ContentsBlack Bear Education Trunk

Black bears are the largest land mammal in Maryland. Learn more about these fascinating animals with our education trunk. The recently updated trunk includes: curriculum guide, a black bear hide, track mold, black bear puppet, skull and scat replica, children’s books, Outdoors Maryland DVDs on black bears, Project Wild guide, a PowerPoint on black bears, and prepped activities to teach about bears.


Furbearer Education TrunkFurbearer Education Trunk

This education trunk is designed to provide hands-on material and activities to teach about the 14 species of furbearers found in Maryland. Furbearers in Maryland include the beaver, bobcat, coyote, fisher, gray fox, long-tailed weasel, red fox, mink, muskrat, nutria, opossum, raccoon, river otter, and striped skunk. The curriculum guide focuses on the history of the fur trade, biology and ecology of Maryland’s furbearers and management of furbearers.

The trunk provides ready-made lessons for educating students in grades K-12. The contents of the trunk includes: curriculum guide, 11 furs, replica skulls, track replicas, scat replicas, books, a raccoon hand puppet, Outdoors Maryland DVDs, supplies to run activities, and a PowerPoint related to Maryland’s furbearers.

Turkey Education TrunkPhoto of Wild Turkey Education Trunk contents

This K-12 education trunk focuses on wild turkey biology and management.

The trunk contains curriculum guide, decoys of a hen and jake (juvenile) wild turkey, gobbler call, replica skull, replica egg, replica scat, a turkey sound CD, supplies to teach about turkeys, a wild turkey puppet, a wild turkey PowerPoint, and books about wild turkeys.


Growing Up WILD Education Kits

Growing Up Wild Educator Kits - Collage of contents 

These hands-on kits are designed to complement Growing Up WILD activities. The kits contain a variety of early childhood education tools that align with the following Growing Up WILD activities: Deep Blue Sea, Fishing Fun, Looking at Leaves, Less is More and Who Lives in a Tree. To learn more about these kits, please check here to visit our Growing Up WILD Educator Kit page.

Project EduBat Trunk

Project EduBat LogoProject EduBat has generously provided a bat education trunk filled with materials to teach about bats. At this time, the Project EduBat trunk is only available in Abingdon, Annapolis, Baltimore City, Cumberland, and Gaithersburg. To learn more, click here.


Aquatic Invasive Species Education Trunk

Aquatic Invasive Species Education Trunk contents.Teach students about aquatic invasive species of the Mid-Atlantic with our new education trunk! The trunk contains over 40 lesson plans and hands-on resources to teach about the many aspects of aquatic invasive species including how they are introduced, how they impact natural areas and students, and ways to engage in action projects to eradicate and educate about invasive species. ​Click here for more information about the Aquatic Invasive Species Education Project.


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Wildlife Education Trunks Info​

LocationAvailabilityContact Info, AddressTrunks Available
Tawes State Office Building

A

Monday
Wednesday
Friday
8am-4pm
By Appointment
Edwin Guevara
edwin.guevara@maryland.gov
410-260-8546
580 Taylor Ave.
Annapolis, MD 21401
  • Black Bear
  • Turkey
  • Furbearer
  • Project EduBat
  • White-tailed Deer
  • Aquatic Invasive Species
  • Growing Up WILD Education Kits
Anita C. Leight Estuary Center

B

Monday-Friday
9am-4:30pm
Saturday
10am-4pm
Lauren Pathoumthong
aclec@harfordcountymd.gov​
410-612-1688
700 Otter Point Rd.
Abingdon, MD 21009
  • Black Bear
  • ​Turkey
  • ​Furbearer
  • White-tailed Deer
  • Project EduBat
  • Aquatic Invasive Species
  • Growing Up WILD Education Kits
Rocky Gap Regional WHS Office

C

Monday-Friday
8am-4pm
Clarissa Harris
clarissa.harris1@maryland.gov
301-777-2136
12512 Pleasant Valley Rd.
Flintstone, MD 21530
  • Black Bear
  • Turkey
  • Furbearer
  • Project EduBat
  • White-tailed Deer
  • Aquatic Invasive Species
  • Growing Up WILD Education Kits
Indian Springs WMA

D

By AppointmentJeff McAfee
jeff.mcafee@maryland.gov
301-842-2702
14038 Blairs Valley Rd.
Clear Springs, MD 21722
  • Black Bear
  • Turkey
  • Furbearer
  • White-tailed Deer
  • Aquatic Invasive Species
  • Growing Up WILD Education Kits
Mt. Nebo WMA

E

By AppointmentKim Knox
kim.knox@maryland.gov
301-334-4255
1728 Kings Run Rd.
Oakland, MD 21550
  • Black Bear
Seneca Creek State Park

F

By AppointmentSamantha Hopkins
samantha.hopkins@maryland.gov
301-258-7308
11950 Clopper Rd.
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
  • Black Bear
  • Turkey
  • Furbearer
  • White-tailed Deer
  • Project EduBat
Wellington WMA

G

By AppointmentRuss Hill
russ.hill@maryland.gov
410-651-2065
32733 Dublin Rd.
Princess Anne, MD 21853
  • Black Bear
  • Turkey
  • Furbearer
  • Aquatic Invasive Species
  • Growing Up WILD Education Kits
Myrtle Grove WMA

H

By AppointmentHarley Eisenmann
harley.eisenmann@maryland.gov
667-270-2147
5625 Myrtle Grove Rd.
La Plata, MD 20646
  • Black Bear
  • Turkey
  • Furbearer
  • White-tailed Deer
  • Aquatic Invasive Species
  • Growing Up WILD Education Kits
Maryland Geological Survey

I

Monday-Friday
1pm-5:30pm
By Appointment
Dale Shelton
dale.shelton@maryland.gov
410-554-5500
2300 Saint Paul St.
Baltimore, MD 21218
  • Black Bear
  • Turkey
  • Furbearer
  • White-tailed Deer
  • Project EduBat
  • ​Growing Up WILD Education Kits