The Highway Rat STEM Trail�( Based on Julia Donaldson’s book)���BY EMMA BROWN�NAC STEM Team

1. Journey stick

• A journey stick (also known as a story stick or nature stick) is essentially a memento of a nature walk, featuring items collected whilst on the walk. These might be things like leaves, twigs, flowers, feathers, or anything else natural that you find along the way.

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• Find a stick to take on your journey. Tie some string around one end to attach the the things you find along the way.

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2. Look around.�“The Highway Rat was a baddie, the Highway Rat was a beast. He took what he wanted and ate what he took.”

Look for a flower, petal and some grass to attach to the stick.

3. Create your own natural paintbrush.

Attach a leaves, grass, flower or moss to the end of your stick.

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• Use it as a paintbrush and dip it into water.

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• Create line journeys. Holding your brush and dragging it along behind you to make a trail.

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• Can a friend follow the trail?

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• Where does it lead?

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• Can you make the trails in sand or mud?

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4. Digging�“These nuts are probably rotten, these nuts are as hard as can be, But I am the Rat of the Highway and these nuts belong to me.”��In Autumn squirrels bury nuts and seeds for winter food for when food is scarce. Can you think of any other animals that bury their food?�( Shrews, moles)

Dig like a squirrel with your hands or use a spade to find a nut or a seed and bury it.

5. Ant Power.�”Some ants came crawling along the road, then stopped with a somersault.”

• Ants live in groups called Colonies. They are very strong and good at teamwork.

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• Can you work as part of a team and find five different leaves?- long, short, wide and thin, different colours.

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• Add a leaf to your stick.
• Can you work as part of a team to pass a stick from one end of the line to the other without using your hands?

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6. Journey stick objects.�“ With never a please or a thank you, the Rat carried on in this way. Flies from a spider!"�

• Find some other natural objects to tie onto your stick. Grass, pine cone, twig.

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7. Brilliant birds.�” Yes, I am the Rat of the Highway, and I fancy a duck for tea!”

• Birds have beaks but they don’t have any teeth, they have wings to fly and 2 feet to walk, they lay eggs in nests and are covered with feathers.

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• Look up and listen for birds. Birds communicate by bird calls and song. This is their way of talking to each other. Can you think of different bird song- owls hoot!, wood pigeons coo!
• Flap your arms like a bird, sing a song like a bird.

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• In Winter, it is hard for birds to find food. That is why it is important for us to put out bird seed and feeders.
• Make a fat ball, scatter some bird seed. Try and put it up high so that cats can’t get the birds.

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• If you find a feather attach it to your stick.

8. Make a cave den.�“For in her cave, her deep dark cave.”

• Find a tree with a flat spot to build your cave den.
• Create a frame using long fallen branches and lean them against the trunk to create a wigwam shape. Don’t forget to leave space for an entrance to get inside.
• Fill the gap with thinner branches and leaves.
• Check it is stable. If it wobbles add more sticks , so that it doesn’t fall over.

9.Highway Rat Celebration Dance.�“Wild was the moonlight dancing, merry the cheer and the chat.”

• Use your journey stick to create a stick dance or music.
• Use your journey stick to talk about the Highway Rat journey, the animals you met, the plants you saw and the activities you did along the way.

10. You have completed the Highway Rat Trail