Science Smarts: Who’s eating our stuff?

By Patty Rooks on July 5, 2025.

As I sat down to write my article this week, I was inspired by something a very special someone taught me when I was young. Perhaps I was thinking of him as it is also his 80th birthday! Nonetheless, I think this week’s activity is not only fun, but one that can be useful if we go for a hike this summer, or try to catch who is stealing our garden produce. Let’s get started.

*Remember to ask an adult before you do this experiment.

Materials

– Container of plaster of paris (you can get this at the hardware store)

– Wooden spoon

– Bucket

– Water

– Paintbrushes

– Exacta knife

– Empty plastic containers of various sizes

– Adult helper

Procedure

1. Have your helper cut the plastic containers into rings of various sizes. These are going to be used as the molds to get your animal tracks.

2. Mix the plaster of paris according to the instructions on the package in your bucket. Mix it well and make sure it is not too runny as you want it to set up in your mold.

3. Go for a hike (with an adult) and look for tracks.

4. Once you find a track you would like to identify, place a plastic ring around it and pour in the plaster of paris.

5. Allow the plaster of paris to harden.

6. Remove the casting and write on the back where you found it, with the date and time.

7. Try to identify the animal print you found. You never know it could be a fox, racoon, deer, coyote or even a bird. Look online or in books for some identification cards. I am not promoting any website as there are many out there, but this one I have found useful as you can print out cards that help you identify the animals you may have found: https: http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/documents/animaltracks.pdf .

What is going on?

Being able to identify animal tracks can help us learn many things. For instance, if all of your strawberries are disappearing in the garden and there are tracks there, you could make a casting and try to identify them. Once you have found out what is eating all of your garden, then you could try some preventative measures to keep your produce safe! Perhaps you are going for a hike, and you see some tracks – it may be a good idea to know if there is a bear in the area for instance so you can be extra cautious. Learning about the wildlife that surrounds us allows us to appreciate the thousands of species we have.

Mark your calendars for the praxis AGM on Wednesday, September 17, 2025 at 7:00 p.m.. We are always looking for new board members that want to share their love of science. Contact Praxis for further details.

Patty Rooks, senior scientific consultant Praxis Science Outreach Society. Praxis has moved! We are very fortunate to be located in the Community Futures Entre Corp Building at #202 556 Fourth St. SE, Medicine Hat, Alberta, T1A 0K8. For all your science needs, please email praxis@praxismh.ca.

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