Casting Tracks

Source:

Taynish National Nature Reserve, local schools pack (SNH)

Time

15 minutes to set up, 30 minutes to make a cast

You will need

• strips of strong card about 30 cm long and 5 cm high
• paper clips
• plaster of Paris
• water
• plastic bowl & stirrer
• large knife or spade
• scrubbing brush

Did you know?

Most mammals can be identified by their footprints and tracks. After a fresh fall of snow, tracks from cats, dogs, mice, rabbits, foxes, badgers, deer and other creatures will appear over night!

Before the activity

Look for tracks in soft muddy ground near the classroom. If you cannot find any, make your own muddy patch. Bury a tray of damp garden earth at soil level perhaps near a bird feeder or bushes. Check it after a few days to see which creatures have walked over it. 

The activity

1. Find an animal track in soft but not too muddy ground. Let the class get a good look at the tracks (without treading on them!) Try and identify which animal or type of animal made the tracks.
2. Bend the strip of card into a circle and secure the ends with a paper clip.
3. Remove any twigs and leaves from the print. Place the card ring over the print and push it gently into the soil.
4. Mix the plaster of Paris with water (usually equal volume of plaster to water) and stir to a smooth paste. Gently pour the paste into the ring of card, near the edge, not on top of the track. Once all the plaster has gone in, tap the ring to remove any bubbles.
5. After about 20 minutes the plaster should have set. Lift up the cast with the spade or knife and remove the card. Clean the cast under a tap gently with a scrubbing brush.
6. Paint the finished cast so that the track stands out against the background plaster and write the name of the animal on the cast. Varnish can be used to protect the cast.

Suggested Follow up

Ask your local ranger to take the class on a walk looking for tracks and trails in a local wood, by a river or on a local nature reserve. 

Find out about using hair tubes and nibbled cones to look for evidence of squirrels in your woods on the Scottish squirrel survey web site

Draw/paint pictures of the creatures who made the prints and display these next to the casts.

Downloads

• BBC Guide to mammal tracks
• Guide to tracks and trails for young children

Additional Information

A guide to British mammals tracks and signs - Field Studies Council, inexpensive fold out, laminated, field guide.

Curriculum Links

• Science (main)
• Expressive Arts (associated)

Age Range

1,2,3,4