After having shared the elk antlers with the kindergarten through fifth graders last week, I brought in the tanned hide of the elk.  The students were able to feel the elk hide, they laid across it, smelled it, felt it and then they were given the chance to lay under it so they could feel the weight of it. The students were amazed at the elk hair, its coarseness, the color of it when it is a single strand versus being a part of the whole hide, the stiffness of it.  Cow elk hair is often used to make a dry fly for trout fishing, which was an interesting fact for the students to learn.

Contributed photos
Students in Abby Emter’s kindergarten class recently had the opportunity to get an upclose look at some elk hide. Students pictured above include: Brynley Jorgenson, Jack Mills and Gunner Johnson.

We listened to the sounds a bull elk makes. The bugle of the bull elk begins with a low “growl” and turns into a high pitched “scream” that the elk can hold for several seconds. The surprised expression on so many of the students’ faces was priceless when they first heard this sound. Before we listened to the elk bugle, students were asked to make the sound they thought an elk might make, many of them thought maybe it would be similar to a goat or sheep sound. It was so fun to experience this with the students and watch their reactions.

If you would like to view the antlers or the elk hide, come on up to the Henning Public Library on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons following the school calendar from 3:30-5:30 p.m. We would love to share these items with you.