Missouri River Expedition Journal  Go back

Created by
South Dakota Discovery Center & Aquarium

With a grant from
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute

The Missouri River Expedition was designed as a culminating activity for a study of the science of the Lewis & Clark Expedition through the use of the SD Discovery Center’s Discoverer Curriculum.

Much of the science process and content skills are learned through the Discoverer Curriculum. Using the Lewis & Clark Expedition as a model, the students undertake a study of the science topics and observation skills they will need. Then, they put these skills into practice during a the mock expedition. This is just as Meriweather Lewis studied with the most prominent scientists of his time to learn all he could in preparation for his expedition. We encourage you to include professional scientists in as many aspects of your study as possible, as did Lewis.

Please note that you are highly encouraged to utilize all of this activity. Gathered scientific information is only important if it can be communicated to others. Just as we can continue to learn from the journals of the members of the Corps of Discovery, so to can your students learn from one another’s experiences as reported in their expedition journals. If you like, you can employ modern day techniques to report the information. Successful reports have been given in writing, orally, and with power point technology.

Materials Needed:

A location fairly new to most of the students, preferably along a waterway.
(Note: This activity can be modified to explore any location.)

• 1 Expedition Log per team(corps) 1 device for measuring distance

• 1 plant press per corps (rope knotted every 10 ft, tape

• 1 sketch pad/notebook per corps measure, gps system, or groups can pace their distance)

• 1 plastic baggie (gallon size) per corps for keeping collected specimen

• 1 compass or gps system* per corps 1 binder per team for organizing

• 1 writing utensil per person the final report (3-hole punch the
  graph paper for making the expedition map baggie for inclusion in the binder)

• 1 adult per corp (to supervise and assist as needed)

• *A set of GPS systems are available on loan from the SD Discovery Center & Aquarium, 224-8295.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AS YOU ARE PREPARING THIS ACTIVITY DO NOT HESITATE TO CALL THE SD DISCOVERY CENTER –605-224-8295

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