National Historic Trails Interpretive Center Casper, WY

 Junior Explorer Junior Explorer

 Pioneer Program 

 Children’s Activity Book 

BLM
 

 The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is a federal government agency that 

takes care of more than 245 million acres of public land. Most of these lands are in the 

western part of the United States. These lands are America’s public lands, and they 

belong to all Americans. These lands are equal in area to nearly four times the land 

size of Wyoming. 

 

 The BLM manages public lands for many uses. The lands supply natural 

resources, such as coal, oil, natural gas, and other minerals. The lands provide habitats 

for plants and animals. People enjoy the big open spaces on the lands. The lands also 

contain evidence of our country’s past, ranging from fossils to Indian artifacts to ghost 

towns and wagon wheel swells. 

 

 The National Historic Trails Interpretive Center (NHTIC) is a partnership 

between the BLM and the National Historic Trails Center Foundation. Together these 

two entities envisioned and built a top notch center to interpret American overland 

passages westward. Today, the BLM owns and staffs the building and the Foundation 

owns and manages the exhibits, a very unique partnership. 

 

 The NHTIC supports the BLM mission by increasing public awareness of the 

history of Native American culture and the historical significance of the National 

Oregon, Mormon, California and Pony Express trails located on our public lands. 

 The NHTIC is also part of the BLM’s National Landscape Conservation System 

(NLCS) which is specifically designed to conserve, protect and restore exceptional 

identified treasured landscapes. 

 
 2 

 BLM’s Junior Explorer program helps introduce young explorers like 

you to the lands and resources that the BLM manages. This Pioneer 

Program Activity Book focuses on western trail heritage in Wyoming. This 

history has influenced the American culture you see today. 

 You can work through the activities on your own or invite a parent 

or adult you know to join you. When you complete the number of 

activities for your age group, please bring the booklet to the front desk or 

mail it to the address at the bottom of the page. 

Ages 7 or under please complete five circles. (5 ) 

Ages 8 to 11 please complete ten circles. (10) 

Ages 12 and over please complete all activities. 

 Then say the Junior Explorer pledge on the back cover, sign the 

certificate, and you’re on your way to exploring and protecting 

America’s public lands. 

As a Junior Explorer you will: 

EXamine historical connections. 

 Promote wise stewardship of your land and resources. 

 Learn about your heritage. 

 Observe the surrounding landscapes. 

 Reveal observations and trail history to others. 

 Empower your mind with knowledge. 

 ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ today! 

(Fill in the bold letters to discover the message.)

NHTIC 

Attn: Jr. Explorer 

1501 N. Poplar St. 

Casper, WY 82601 
3 

April, 1850 

 Father said everyone went west for different reasons. We are 

going for the farm land in the Oregon Territory. Others we passed 

wanted freedom to practice their religion. Mother remarked today that 

she is glad Father does not have high dreams of striking it rich in the 

gold fields like those bound for California. No matter the motivation, I 

think everyone’s journey will be long and tedious. Sister and I walk at 

least 12 miles everyday. Father says we should reach our new home 

before winter, five months away. 

 What would motivate you to walk 2,000 miles?

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

 Label the trails on the legend.
 4 

 Do you know the answers to the crossword?

Across 

3. Dry food made of ground meat and berries 

5. A conical shaped home made of animal hides 

6. Indian nick-name for black frontier soldiers 

7. These areas contain the bones of mass buffalo killing sites 

8. Tool used to scrape hides clean 

Down 

1. Used as a cup or to carry fire 

2. Large cow-like animal living in North America 

3. People who lived on the Great Plains and hunted buffalo 

4. Used to sew animal hides together 

bison 

buffalo jump 

buffalo soldier 

horn 

pemmican 

Plains Indians 

scraper 

sinew 

tipi 

May,1850 

 Today we saw some Indians from a distance. They were not 

dangerous as some say. Soon we will see the shaggy beasts called 

buffalo. 
5 

June, 1850 

 We are traveling on what Father calls the “Great Platte River 

Road,” along the North Platte tributary. Sister and I discover strange 

new things on the trail every day. Today Sister and I searched for odd 

looking plants and played a game imagining their uses. Sister sketched the plants 

so she could remember them. 

 Circle the plants you saw on your visit today.

Castellija 

Opuntia 

Achillea 

Millefoluim 

The fruit looks delicious. 

How do we eat it without 

poking our fingers? 

Yucca 

We saw the 

Indians use the 

roots as shampoo. 

Mother used 

this on our 

cut feet. 

This one is not 

for eating! 

The flowers 

are tasty. 

Protect our fragile landscapes: “Take photos not flowers!” 

Artemisia 

Tridentate 

Yarrow 

Sagebrush 

Prickly Pear Cactus 

Yucca 

Indian Paintbrush 
 6 

Argonauts 1848-1869 

 Use the decoder to discover the trail names. 

 The travelers on the trail provide a hint.

17 15 1 23 17 24

20 17 15 20 17 24

22 3 5 19 18 17 15 24 19 3

16 17 24 6 1 10 16 15 1 4 4

7 17 11 1 20 3 24

Riders 

1860-1861 

Frontier Soldiers 

1863-1868 

Missionaries 

1832-1869 

The Saints 

1846-1869 

A B C D E F G H I J K L M

3 7 22 2 1 18 23 9 19 21 8 5 20

 

N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

DECODER 

24 17 16 12 15 4 13 26 14 25 10 6 11
7 Trapper Pioneer Pony Express Rider 

Robert Stuart’s party 

built Wyoming’s first 

cabin near Bessemer 

Bend in 1812. 

Crossing the North Platte 

River was dangerous. 

Platte Bridge Station was a 

Pony Express Relay Station. 

 Which tools did they need? 

Match the tools to the three different trades.
 8 

Failure to prepare is preparing for failure. 

April, 1850 

 Mother and Father packed for our entire journey west. Our 

wagon is crammed tight with supplies. I asked Father why we couldn’t 

buy things on the trail. He said supplies may be scarce and too expensive 

along the way. Mother is fretting day and night about our supplies. We 

women worry. 

 Help Mother make wise decisions by circling the items 

emigrants packed for their journey.

 Complete the Suggested Food Supply List:

Flour _________________ ________________ 

Bacon _________________ ________________ 

Beans _________________ ________________ 
9 

May, 1850 

 Mother says I must measure ingredients carefully when cooking. 

If I use too much today then we will not have enough for tomorrow. 

Cooking meals is difficult over the open fire. Yesterday, I prepared 

mosquito flapjacks. Mother wouldn’t let the batter go to waste. 

Think through the preparation of your breakfast. How would you cook it 

without the use of a microwave, stove, or refrigerator? Where would you 

get the ingredients without grocery stores? Are you able to find or trade 

for the supplies you will need to make breakfast? 

 Imagine you are an emigrant on the trail and list the steps you would 

use to prepare the breakfast you ate this morning. 

How would you make a fire?___________________________________________ 

______________________________________________________________________ 

What ingredients do you need?________________________________________ 

______________________________________________________________________ 

Where will you get them?______________________________________________ 

______________________________________________________________________

How will you prepare your meal? 

1.____________________________________________________________________ 

2.____________________________________________________________________ 

3.____________________________________________________________________ 

4.____________________________________________________________________ 

5.____________________________________________________________________ 

A few bushels of buffalo chips will 

do the job if wood is scarce. 

Grinding nuts will make 

a form of flour. 

Fresh eggs come from chickens. 

Cheese and butter can be made 

from fresh cow’s milk. Sticks make good spatulas. 
 10 

 Sketch the sights the emigrants would have seen outside 

the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center. 

July, 1850 

 We said goodbye to the Platte River today. Father paid $1.25 to 

cross the wagon, Mother and Sister on the ferry. I swam across with 

our cattle. It was a tiring day. 

  Match the correct date.

A. 1851 B. 1836 C. 1847 

 How will you cross the river? __________________________

1.___ 2.___ 3.___
11 

July, 1850 

 Today Brother learned how to command the oxen. Father was 

sick with fever in the wagon. Mother said it’s not cholera, but she 

worries. 

 Help command the oxen through the maze.

 Use the clues above to fill in the correct commands.

 

 Stop __________ Right __________ 

 Move __________ Left __________ 

GIDDY UP 

WHOA 

HAW 

GIDDY UP 

HAW GEE 

HAW 

GEE 

WHOA WHOA 

WHOA 

WHOA 

WHOA 
 12 

August, 1850 

 Brother and I write in our journal as much as we are able. We 

want Grandpa to know about our life going west. Father promises to mail 

him our journal from our new home in Oregon. He said we will arrive 

there before the end of September.

DATE_______________________ 

LOCATION__________________ 

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________ 

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

 Write about today’s visit.

September 30, 1850 

OREGON at last! We will stay the winter helping Mr. 

Farmer in return for food. Next spring we will move to our 

own farm. 
13 

T U S A C N C T C G F S L S D R V N R U 

H R A T E A R H N U N O S D E F O R D R 

S X A X A A O I O X T A R N V E R U T S 

A N O N C G N P I L P O O T I X M V W L 

E H V D S O E E L H E O F V L P A Q X B 

A M N Q O C G C T A H R F F S L N A L S 

E A I N D O O U O C T F A B G O I T G V 

H C B G S L O N S A O T Y P A R F R C Q 

G Z P E R S A E T G C R E V T E E A O I 

O N R F S A I E N I R H K R E R S I N I 

L U S E A R N I R E N F M V I D T L E N 

D K K S I V P T F K N E I F X V D S S D 

Y M M A C M O U N T A I N M A N E K T I 

M O R X U R O P C T R E A T I E S R O A 

O P K J O V E R L A N D E R A P T U G N 

T E L E G R A P H U C J N B H L I D A S 

I N D E P E N D E N C E R O C K N M H I 

G U Y A K X P I O N E E R Y Z R Y N Z N 

N B H D E U O D A D F R B S I Z A M N H 

U P B Z V G M V A M E K Q A U C Y G B T 

 

Cholera 

Conestoga 

Cut-off 

Devil’s Gate 

Emigrant 

Explorer 

Ferry 

Ford 

Fort 

Gold 

Handcart 

Independence Rock 

Indians 

Jumping-off 

Manifest Destiny 

Mountain man 

Nooning 

Overlander 

Oxen 

Pioneer 

Platte River 

Prairie schooner 

Ruts 

South Pass 

Stagecoach 

Telegraph 

Trails 

Transcontinental 

Treaties 

Yoke 

 Find the hidden trail vocabulary words. 
 14 

October, 1850 

 Father was elated today when he found out that the Donation 

Land Claim Act was passed. What auspicious news! He and Mother are 

both entitled to 320 acres of FREE Oregon Land. Mother explained to 

Sister and I that women in the States could not own land. She secretly told us 

that she would work the land with her own hands just to have her name on the 

title. (Four years away!) I spent the rest of the day dreaming of plans for our 

farm. 

 Develop symbols to represent the following:

House 

Barn 

Tree 

Water 

Crops 

Garden 

 Design your farm.
15 

October, 1861 

 Sister and I are waiting to hear news on the completion of the 

telegraph line to California. Everyone is overjoyed with the prospect of 

quick communication. Maybe one day they will complete a 

transcontinental railway and Grandpa can come live with us. 

 What important message would you send?

  Write your name in code.
 16 

July, 1869 

 The transcontinental railroad is finally complete. Father is sending 

money for Grandpa to come live in Oregon with us. We will all meet him in 

Sacramento next month. Brother and I are very excited to introduce him to 

his great-grandchildren. 

  Connect the dots to view how Grandpa will travel west. 
17 

The California Trail Interpretive Center 

3900 Idaho Street 

Elko, NV 89801 

(775) 738-1849 

http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/

elko_field_office/blm_programs/

blm_special_areas/california_trail_historic.html 

1501 N. Poplar Street 

Casper, WY 82601 

(307 ) 261-7780 

Trailcenter_wy@blm.gov

National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center 

22267 Highway 86 

P.O. Box 987 

Baker City, OR 97814 

(541) 523-1843 

Oregontrail@blm.gov 

BLM Historic Emigrant Trail Centers 
 

Did you meet Seymour, the pronghorn antelope, on your visit today? 

Pronghorns are very common in Wyoming and Seymour’s friends are 

often seen outside our Center. Look closely in the grass and you may 

see a few resting. 

Seymour wants you to go outdoors today and explore safely. 

Please respect Seymour and his 

friends by keeping your distance 

while taking photographs. 

Also, help us protect his habitat by 

recycling this booklet after your 

visit. 

 See More. Do More. Explore your Public Lands. 

Interesting Pronghorn Facts: 

Both male and females have horns. 

They are the fastest hoofed animal 

in North America, running up to 

60 miles per hour. 

Pronghorn are herbivores who eat 

grass and sagebrush. 

Their eyes can detect movement up 

to 3 miles away. 

Pronghorn would rather crawl 

under a fence than jump it. 
2 

National Historic Trails Interpretive Center 

Jr. Explorer Certificate 

As a Bureau of Land Management Junior Explorer, I promise to: 

• do all I can to help preserve and protect the natural and cultural resources on our public lands, • share what I have learned with others! • keep learning about the importance of nature and our heritage, and • be aware of how my actions can affect other living things and the evidence of our past, 

____________________________ 

 Explorer Signature 

__________________________________________ 

Official Signature Date