Looking for something to keep the young people in your life busy? Get out and enjoy some of the amazing parks and green spaces in our region and learn a little bit at the same time! This month, we’re featuring THREE different resources available for free on our website to help you explore the world around you. Click the links in the headings to go straight to a database.
What Tree Is It?
If you’ve ever wondered what that awesome tree in your front yard is, wonder no longer! Just use this handy-dandy tree identifier! You can search by leaf, by fruit, or by name. You’ll be guided through a series of questions (with pictures!) that help narrow your search. And when you find it, you’ll be treated to a page with more pictures and fun facts to help you make sure you’ve got the right one!
To the right, you can see the leaf detail picture on gingko biloba, a fascinating tree that has existed, essentially unchanged, since the Jurassic period. That’s right, you just learned a fun fact about a tree that has existed since the dinosaurs were around!
What’s That Snake?
We know that snakes aren’t everyone’s favorite, but most snakes in Ohio couldn’t hurt you if they wanted to! In fact, there are only three venomous snakes that live in Ohio—the Northern Copperhead, the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake, and the Timber Rattlesnake—and they’re not common around here and are relatively mild-mannered.
When you use the Quick ID to figure out what snake you‘re looking at, you‘ll be guided through a series of questions about its patterns, coloration, size, and relative shape until you find the one that‘s yours.
What’s the Point?
Flint artifacts (or arrowheads) are one of the most fascinating finds you can make while out exploring! Made by the prehistoric and historic tribes of Ohio, they were used for many purposes—as drills, scrapers, cutting tools, and weapons. Using this guide will help you figure out what kind of tool you are holding. While many of the prehistoric people have been lost to history, their descendants are still here!
History tells us that the Shawnee, Haudenosaunee (including Seneca and Cayuga), Delaware (Lenape), Kaskaskia (Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma), and many other Indigenous people lived on the land we now call Stark County. We recognize their past, present, and future contributions to our culture and community, and while these artifacts we find aren't typically used in day-to-day life, they are part of the history of these still-living people. Remember to be respectful when exploring!
