informal education workshop about anne frank and environmental conservation

Caitlin Kegley-Final Project-12.4.12

Introduction/ Background Research

The project I am working on is the Anne Frank Tree Sapling Project. Anne Frank was a

young Jewish girl forced to hide from the Nazis during World War II. While in hiding, Anne

Frank observed a chestnut tree. For Anne, this tree represented the outside world and the promise

of freedom. Anne never received her freedom, but the release of her diary allowed the tree to

become an international symbol of hope.

In 2008, Anne’s Tree started to suffer from a fungus called Artist’s Conk. The fungus

decayed the wood inside of the chestnut tree, causing the tree to become weak. The situation

was exacerbated by the horse chestnut leaf miner moth, an invasive species from Macedonia.

This moth eats away at the tree’s leaves, which causes them to brown and prematurely fall off.

In 2010 the situation came to a head when a storm caused the tree to fall over and die. Luckily,

scientists had the foresight to collect seeds from Anne’s Tree. These seeds have been grown into

saplings and donated to various institutions around the world. The Children’s Museum of

Indianapolis is one institution that has received a sapling. The sapling has been quarantined for

the last two years, and in the spring of 2013 it will be available for planting. The program I am

creating will be part of the programming that will coincide with the 2013 planting.

The goal of my project is to create a twenty-minute program that can routinely be

performed in the Indianapolis Children’s Museum’s Biotechnology Lab. The Biotechnology Lab

uses science experiments and demonstrations to teach visitors about how science impacts their

daily lives. The primary focus of the lab is the way that plant science can be used to improve

technology, with an emphasis on improving crops. Some of the programs the Biotechnology Lab

routinely offers include, Changing Color, a program that shows technology inspired by nature

and From Plants to Pants, a program that shows how scientists use technology to improve


clothing.

The Biotechnology Lab has also been involved in the creation of unit plans. Each unit

contains lesson plans that cover various academic content standards. Most of the lessons are

taught in the classroom, but some lessons involve a trip to the Children’s Museum of

Indianapolis. Two examples of units that involve a visit to the Biotechnology Lab include,

Science-Port Cool Green, a unit that teaches students about the growth and development of

plants and Agricultural Biotechnology, a unit that teaches students about agriculture. Creating

these unit plans and making them available to teachers via The Children’s Museum of

Indianapolis’ website, is one way that the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis demonstrates its

belief in “maintaining a commitment to education by effectively reaching and impacting schools,

teachers and teacher training institutions” as outlined in their mission statement.

The program I will be creating will be used as part of a unit plan designed for third grade

students called Rooted in Peace- Trees of Hope. The unit will cover information about, Anne

Frank and her chestnut tree, the science of growing trees, the issues facing trees and forest

conservation. My program centers on the issues facing trees, including invasive species and

fungi. Visitors will learn about the invasive Emerald Ashe Borer and how it is destroying local

Ash trees as well as the fungus, Artist’s Conch. Visitors will also learn what they can do to help

stop the spread of the Emerald Ash Borer. This fits in with The Children Museum of

Indianapolis’ belief in their, “obligation to be good stewards of our human and financial

resources,” as stated in their mission.

My program will also relate to the museum’s exhibit, The Power of Children. In the

exhibit, visitors learn about three children, Anne Frank, Ruby Bridges, and Ryan White, and how

each of these children made a difference in their world. The exhibit includes the “Tree of


Promise” a tree that was modeled after Anne’s chestnut tree. Visitors are encouraged to think of

one way they can positively impact their world, write it on a leaf, and attach the leaf to the tree.

During my program, students will learn some ways that they can make a difference (not moving

firewood and reporting infected trees). Once again this reflects the museum’s mission and belief

in “sharing our experiences, our treasury of artifacts, and the talents of staff, volunteers, Guild,

and youth to positively affect children and families in our community, state, region, nation and

the world.”

Explanation of the Learning Framework The learning theory that I plan to use in my program is experiential learning. Experiential

learning was developed by David Kolb. Kolb believed that learning happens through the creation

of genuine experiences. In order to create these genuine experiences, the learner must be actively

involved, be able to reflect on the experience, be able to analyze information and be able to draw

new conclusions that lead to an increase in knowledge. In my program, visitors will be engaged

in different experiences that allow them to draw conclusions.

One experience that will allow visitors to draw conclusions is the insect/firewood

tracking activity. During this experience visitors will be actively involved in moving firewood

and insects. They will then chart the movement of a specific insect. This will allow visitors to

make conclusions about how moving a log can spread the Emerald Ash Borer. Another

experience that will allow visitors to draw conclusions is the clay tunneling activity. In this

activity visitors will create their own chew tunnels. They will then be asked to try and knock

over their clay trunks. This will allow visitors to draw their own conclusions about the effect of

chew tunnels on the health of a tree.

I selected experiential learning because I believe it helps visitors construct their own

learning. Each visitor is allowed to have a hands-on learning experience which helps to maintain


their interest. Visitors might have different points of view based on what they see happening

during the experiment. The facilitator can lead a group discussion which will allow learners to

contribute their unique points of view. This will help build a larger knowledge base. This is also

in line with the museum’s mission, which is to provide learning experiences that allow families

or groups to learn together.

Program Plan Template

The program will be called the Anne Frank Sapling Project. This program will be a

student workshop and part of the Rooted in Peace-Trees of Hope Unit. It will also be a

demonstration activity that is routinely used for visitors at the Biotechnology Lab.

Program Description

At the beginning of this program, visitors will hear the facilitator talk about the history of

Anne Frank’s Tree. This will include quotes made by Anne and her father that illustrate how

Anne’s Tree is a symbol of hope and freedom. It will also include information about how trees

can contract Artist’s Conk, the fungus that weakened Anne’s Tree. The facilitator will also talk

about the damage done to Anne’s Tree by the horse chestnut miner moth and how it is an

invasive species. This will allow the facilitator to transition into information about the Emerald

Ash Borer, an invasive species destroying local ash trees.

The facilitator will then show visitors how they can identify an Ash tree. The bark has a

distinct diamond-shaped pattern, the leaves are opposite and compound, and the seeds are the

famous “helicopter” shape. Visitors will be able to touch pieces of the bark, the leaves, and the

seeds.


Visitors will then be given a clay cylinder and a plastic insect. This cylinder will

represent the trunk of an Ash tree and the plastic insect will represent the Emerald Ash Borer.

Initially, visitors will be asked to try and blow over the clay cylinder. This will show how a

healthy tree cannot easily be knocked over. Then the visitors will be given two minutes to tunnel

into the clay cylinder with their plastic insect. This will simulate how the Emerald Ash Borer eats

the insides of a healthy tree. Visitors will also be given pieces of the Artist’s Conch fungus to put

into the cracks in their tree’s bark. This will simulate how bark damage, caused by insects,

makes a tree more susceptible to other issues like a fungus. After the tunneling, visitors will

again be asked to try and blow over their clay tree trunk. Some trunks may fall over and this will

illustrate how the Emerald Ash Borer weakens the infrastructure of a tree.


The facilitator will then pass out pieces of trunk damaged by the Emerald Ash Borer.

There will be a D-shaped hole in the bark as well as an S-shaped chew pattern. The facilitator

will stick a clear straw into a beaker of water that is colored blue. The facilitator will explain that

this is how a healthy tree acquires its water and nutrients. The facilitator will then suck up some

of the liquid. Next the facilitator will cut the straw. They will then explain that when the Emerald

Ash Borer’s larvae chews away some of the insides of the tree, it stops the flow of nutrients and

water to the top of the tree, much like a straw with a hole.

Visitors will then learn about ways they can stop the Emerald Ash Borer. One way

visitors can stop the spread of the Emerald Ash Borer is by not moving firewood. In order to

demonstrate this, students will receive a lettered Popsicle stick and a worksheet. On each

Popsicle stick there will be velcroed pictures of insects. Some insects will be red and other

insects will be green. All insects will be numbered. The worksheet looks like this:

What letter is on my log? __________ What are the numbers on the insects on my log?_______

What color are insects on my log at the beginning?

Red Green Both Red and Green

What color are the insects on my log at the end?

Red Green Both Red and Green

Trade Number Number on the Insect You Gave

Away

Number of the Insect You

Received

First Trade

Second Trade

Third Trade

Fourth Trade

Fifth Trade


The students will then move around the lab and make five trades. During each trade the

visitor will give away one insect, in exchange for an insect from someone else. Each time the

visitor makes a trade they must write down the number of the insect they gave away and the

number of the insect they received. At the end of the trade time, the facilitator will demonstrate

the movement of green insect number one. This insect will represent the Emerald Ash Borer.

The facilitator will ask for the visitor who currently has insect number one to raise their

hand. The facilitator will then ask if the visitor has had insect number one the whole time or if

they received it through a trade with someone else. If the visitor says that they have had it the

entire time then the facilitator can say that in this particular instance the Emerald Ash Borer was

contained. The facilitator will explain that this happens when people do not move firewood

because the infected wood does not go to a new location where the Emerald Ash Bore can

explore.

If the visitor says that someone else traded it to them, the facilitator will ask who made

the trade. Since each visitor had a record of the trades that they have made it should be easy to

figure out who made the trade. The facilitator will then ask that new person the letter of their log.

The letter of the log signifies the origin of the infestation. Next, the facilitator will ask the new

person how they came to have insect number one. Once again the letter of the new log will be

recorded. This keeps happening until the facilitator finds insect number one’s original log. After

the visitors and facilitator figure out the sequence of the Emerald Ash Borer outbreak, the

facilitator will use a map to show how moving a log from one location can create an outbreak in

a previously uninfected area. This will illustrate how moving firewood helps spread invasive

species like the Emerald Ash Borer.


This is a sample map. Each log is labeled and represents a different stand of trees. The

stars represent the original areas infected by the Emerald Ash Borer. The map should have paths

made out of Velcro to represent the path of a trade. This will show visitors where the firewood

has traveled. In this example the infected firewood started in area A. The infected firewood was

moved to uninfected area D. Then the Emerald Ash Borer left the infected log, before it was

burned, and laid eggs in the trees in area D. As a result, area D became infected. Infected

firewood in area D was moved into area E where the cycle continued. This process is something

the facilitator should explain as visitors put the Velcro paths on the map.

After this discussion the facilitator will reinforce the idea of not moving firewood and

explain another way that visitors can help, monitoring local Ash trees. Visitors can use what they

have learned about identifying Ash trees and the signs of the Emerald Ash Borer, to report trees

infested with the Emerald Ash Borer. This helps the state and the Department of Plant Health

A

B C

D

E F

G

H


have a better understanding of the areas affected by the Emerald Ash Borer. The facilitator will

then talk about the sapling grown from the seeds of Anne’s Tree. This will tie in the message that

there is hope even though the Emerald Ash Borer situation seems dire. As the visitors leave they

will receive a seed in a bag along with a handout. It will look like this:

Beat the Beetle! Stop the Emerald Ash Borer!

The Emerald Ash Borer is an invasive species that kills local Ash trees. Ash trees have bark that

has a distinct diamond-shaped pattern, the leaves are opposite and compound, and the seeds are the

famous “helicopter” shape.

When an Ash tree is infested with the Emerald Ash Borer look for a D-Shaped hole in the bark,

dying branches starting at the top of the tree, an increase in woodpecker activity, and the beetle itself.

One way to stop the spread of the Emerald Ash Borer is not to move firewood. If you think a tree

in your area has the Emerald Ash Borer take pictures of the tree and contact:

Gary Simon, State Plant Health Director.

1305 Cumberland Avenue, Ste. 102

West Lafayette, IN 47906

Phone: (765) 497-2859

[email protected]

The handout has the contact information of Gary Simon, Indiana Plant Health Director.

He is the person visitors should contact in the event that they see a new tree infested with the

Emerald Ash Borer. It also has a summary of how to identify an Ash tree as well as the Emerald

Ash Borer. This will be a reference for visitors to take home so that they can remember how to

identify an Ash tree and the Emerald Ash Borer. The seed is included in the bag in the hopes that

visitors will plant new trees to help replace some of the trees that have died from invasive

species like the Emerald Ash Borer or fungi like Artist’s Conch. Planting trees is another way

that visitors can help save forests ravaged by the Emerald Ash Borer. The seed will be of an

indigenous species of tree that is not affected by the Emerald Ash Borer.

mailto:[email protected]


How the Program Fits into the Mission of the Museum

The museum should support and implement this program because it relates to the

museum’s belief in the importance of making an impact in the community. By teaching visitors

how to identify and a report a tree that has been affected by the Emerald Ash Borer, the museum

is helping visitors contribute to the government’s efforts to contain the spread of the Emerald

Ash Borer. If a visitor reports a newly infected tree, in a previously unidentified region, the

government may be able to introduce parasitic wasps than can kill the Emerald Ash Borer before

it kills the neighboring Ash trees. This shows how the visitor can help the environment and

consequently the community as a result of this program.

This program also teaches visitors how they can responsibly burn firewood. This will

allow visitors to make a difference in their environment through preventative conservation. This

can benefit the community by slowing the spread of the Emerald Ash Borer.

Finally, visitors will receive their own seed to plant. This will add to the local

environment and benefit the community because trees produce oxygen, shade, and help combat

local soil erosion.

Proposed Date/Time: The program will begin in the spring of 2013. It will be a twenty minute

program. It will happen with school groups by appointment as well as in the Biotechnology Lab

on regular business days.

Estimated Program Budget: The program has a budget of $250. The money will be used to buy

clay, plastic insects, Popsicle sticks, to print and laminate red and green insects, to buy Velcro in

order to velcro the insects onto the Popsicle sticks, to print handouts, to construct a Velcro map,

to buy plastic bags, and to buy seeds (if they are not donated by another organization.)

Target Audience: The target audience is a third grade class. The secondary audience will be


families who visit the museum on an average day.

Anticipated Attendance/Capacity: The lab can accommodate up to twenty-five people.

Potential Funders or Sponsors: Potential sponsors are the Indiana Tree Project, The Indiana

Department of Natural Resources, The Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society, local

nurseries and Project Learning Tree.

Museum Space to be Used: This will take place in the Biotechnology Lab. This lab complies

with ADA regulations.

Involvement of Other Departments: The graphics department would need to create a Velcro

map, the education department would have to reach out to local schools in the area, and

incorporate this activity into the unit, and marketing would have to publicize the program.

Involvement of Staff/ Volunteers: John McCollum, the scientist who works in the

Biotechnology Lab, would be facilitating this program.

Type of Marketing Support Needed: There would need to be signage on the Biotechnology

Lab, blurbs in the daily handouts they give to visitors, and advertisements on the website. In the

museum there is a display with information about the kind of programs that the museum has

available for teachers. Information about my program would also have to be added to this

display.

Potential Community Partners: Potential community groups could include environmental

clubs, entomology societies, and local schools and universities.

Indiana Academic Standards Science – Indiana Academic Standards

Content Standard 3 – Life Science

o Grade 3 – 3.3.1, 3.3.2

o Grade 4 – 4.3.2, 4.3.3, 4.3.4

National Council for the Social Studies Standard 10

o Civic Ideals and Practices: Social studies programs should include experiences

that provide for the study of the ideals, principles and practices of citizenship in a

democratic republic.


Content Standards for United States Government

o USG.5.3 Analyze the roles of citizens in Indiana and the United States.

Example: Voting in public elections, being informed on civic issues, participating in

voluntary associations, and participating in political activities.

Learning Summary

Program Objectives/ Visitor Experience: Visitors will learn about the history of Anne Frank’s

tree so that they will have an understanding of the trees importance, how it died, and why the

museum has a sapling from that tree. Visitors will understand how the fungus Artist’s Conch is

spread. Visitors will understand what the term invasive species. Visitors will learn how to

identify an Ash Tree and the signs of an Emerald Ash Borer infestation. Visitors will tunnel into

clay in order to understand how the Emerald Ash Borer can damage the infrastructure of a tree.

Visitors will observe how a broken straw is similar to the damage caused by the Emerald Ash

Borer. Visitors will track different insects in order to understand how moving firewood allows

dangerous invasive insects to travel. Visitors will learn how to report sightings of the Emerald

Ash Borer in order to make the government more aware of the outbreak pattern.

Outcomes/Goals: Visitors will have a greater understanding of the threats facing hardwoods

including invasive species and fungi. Visitors will leave with an understanding of what an

invasive species is, how trees become infected with bacteria or fungus, how the Emerald Ash

Borer damages a tree, and ways they can minimize the impact of the Emerald Ash Borer.

Learning activities: The clay activity will teach visitors about the damage caused by the

Emerald Ash Borer as well as how fungi like Artist’s Conch are spread. The straw activity will

teach visitors how the Emerald Ash Borer kills the tree, by disrupting the flow of nutrients and

water. The insect tracking activity will encourage visitors not to move firewood. Learning how to

identify the Emerald Ash Borer and Ash trees will help visitors diagnose the Emerald Ash Borer

in their community. Giving the visitors information about how to report the Emerald Ash Borer


will encourage visitors to report outbreaks which will increase the knowledge the government

has about the spread of the Emerald Ash Borer. Giving visitors a seed to take home will

encourage visitors to plant more trees.

Materials: The materials needed will be, clay, plastic insects, a straw, dyed water, examples of

Ash bark, examples of Ash leaves, examples of Ash seeds, examples of the Emerald Ash Borer,

examples of the hole created by the Emerald Ash Borer, examples of the S-shaped chew pattern,

Popsicle sticks, Velcro, laminated green and red insects, handouts, plastic bags, seeds, pencils

and a map with Velcro trails.

Procedures/instructions/directions: First, the visitors will enter the lab. Then, they will take a

seat and listen to the facilitator give a brief history of Anne Frank, the Anne Frank Tree and its

problems. Next, the facilitator will talk about invasive species including the Emerald Ash Borer.

The facilitator should ask visitors what they know about Anne Frank, invasive species, and why

trees are important. The facilitator will hand out the seed, bark, and leaves of an Ash tree in

order to help visitors learn how to indentify an Ash tree. Then, the facilitator will give each

visitor a cylinder of clay and a plastic insect. Visitors will try to blow over the clay. After that,

visitors will be asked to tunnel through the cylinder with the plastic insect. They will be given

pieces of the Artist Conch’s fungus to put into the holes of the bark. This will show how the

fungus spreads and infects trees. Once again, ask visitors to try and blow over their tree trunk to

see if the weaken trunk will fall over. Next, give each visitor a sample of bark and wood that has

been damaged by the Emerald Ash Borer. This will help visitors learn how to identify the

damage. Make sure to show a picture of crown deadening. The facilitator will then show how

damage to a tree, by the Emerald Ash Borer, is similar to a straw that has been cut. In order to do

this, the facilitator will place water dyed blue into a beaker with a straw in it. The facilitator will


suck up the liquid through a straw and then cut a hole into the straw. Once again, the facilitator

will try to suck up the liquid, this time to no avail. Next the visitors will receive the Popsicle

sticks with Velcro insects and a tracking sheet. Before starting the activity visitors should write

down the letter of their Popsicle stick, the number of their insects, and the color of their insects.

Then, visitors will move around the lab completing five even insect exchanges. Each time they

make an exchange the visitor will have to write down the number of the insect they gave away

and the insect they received. Ask who has green insect number one. Track the movement of

green insect number one, by tracing the exchange of the insect. Make sure to keep track of which

logs are involved. Then, use the Velcro paths to track the spread of the outbreak. Ask visitors to

think about what would have happened to the stickers if they were not allowed to move? The

facilitator will then sum up how moving firewood has spread the Emerald Ash Borer. The

facilitator will also explain how they can help inform the government about the spread of

Emerald Ash Borer by documenting infected trees in their area. Finally, give each student a

baggie, with a seed and the handout that tell visitors where they can go to stop the spread of the

Emerald Ash Borer.

Script for the program: (All of the questions are sample questions that might be asked of

visitors.)

Welcome to the Biotechnology Lab. Today we will be conducting some experiments that

will help us learn about some of the problems facing Trees. We will also be talking about a very

special tree, the Anne Frank Chestnut Tree. Does anyone know who Anne Frank was? (Take

answers from the audience). Yes, Anne Frank was a young Jewish girl whose family went into

hiding to avoid the Nazis. The Nazis were a group of people in Germany who were forcing

Jewish people to work in prison camps just because they were Jewish. How many of you have

visited our Power of Children Gallery? That gallery talks more about the struggles that many

Jewish people were facing in Nazi Germany. It also tells the story of Anne Frank. Anne Frank

kept a diary while she was in hiding and in her diary Anne talks about a chestnut tree that she

saw outside of her window.

“February 23, 1944

The two of us looked out at the blue sky, the bare chestnut tree glistening with dew, the seagulls and other

birds glinting with silver as they swooped through the air, and we were so moved and entranced that we

couldn’t speak.”


For Anne, this tree represented the world outside of her hiding place and the promise of freedom.

Anne never received her freedom, but the release of her diary allowed the tree to become an international

symbol of hope. In 2008, Anne’s Tree started to suffer from a fungus called Artist’s Conk. The fungus

decayed the wood inside of the chestnut tree, causing the tree to become weak. The situation was made

worse by the horse chestnut leaf miner moth, an invasive species from Macedonia. Does anyone know

what an invasive species is? An invasive species means a type of plant or animal that is not originally

found in a specific area. Often these species disrupt the circle of life in the area. For example this moth

eats away at the tree’s leaves, which causes them to brown and prematurely fall off. This kills the tree

and hurts all the animals and plants that depend on the tree for life. In 2010 a storm caused Anne’s Tree to

fall over and die. Luckily, scientists had the idea to collect seeds from Anne’s Tree. These seeds have

been grown into saplings which are like baby trees and donated to various institutions around the world.

The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is one place that has received a sapling. This helps the tree to live

on today.

Today we will be talking about an invasive species called the Emerald Ash Borer. The Emerald

Ash Borer is an insect whose larvae eat away at the Ash Tree. Who knows how we can tell which trees

are Ash trees? (Explain the different features of the Ash tree and show the parts of the trees.)

Now we are going to do a demonstration of what happens when the Emerald Ash Borer eats away

at an Ash tree. You each have a plastic insect and a clay cylinder. What part of the tree does that look

like? That’s right the trunk. Trunks are very strong. Try to blow over your trunk. It is very hard to do

because trees have strong roots and strong insides. Now you have two minutes to be the Emerald Ash

Borer. You have two minutes to tunnel through the trunk of your tree. Feel free to take out some of the

insides of the tree because real insects will eat the insides of the tree. (After tunneling). . Here are some

pieces of the Artist’s Conch fungus. They enter trees through cracks in the bark. You can put them into

your tree trunk. How have humans made cracks or holes in the bark of trees? Which animals have made

cracks or holes in the barks of tree?

Now we will try to blow the trunk over again. Did anyone knock their trunk down just by

blowing on it? This is because the Emerald Ash Borer larvae take out the insides of the tree which makes

the tree weaker

Here are some pieces of Ash trees affected by the Emerald Ash Boer. ( Show the pieces of the

tree). What shape hole do you see in the bark? D-shaped holes are how the Emerald Ash Borer gets into

the tree. Then they lay their eggs in the tree. What kind of pattern is the chew tunneling? The larvae or

baby Emerald Ash Borers chew the tree in an S-shaped pattern. What are some other ways we can tell if a

tree has been affected by the Emerald Ash Borer? We can look for more woodpeckers visiting the tree

and for crown-deadening. Where do kings and queens wear crowns? On their heads. This means that the

leaves and branches at the top of the tree (like your head) start to die. This is because they are not getting

enough water or nutrients. Why do you think the trees are not getting enough nutrients?

This is because trees are like straws. (Show how straws suck up liquid.) A healthy tree can have

nutrients reach all the way to the top! When the Emerald Ash Borer larvae eat parts of the tree they

prevent the nutrients from reaching the tops of the tree much like a hole in a straw prevents water from

getting to your mouth. (Show what happens with a broken straw.)

How can we save trees from the Emerald Ash Borer? Today the Emerald Ash Borer is only in a

few states so one way we can stop the Emerald Ash Borer is by not moving firewood from infected states

into non-infected states. Who has ever been camping or at a camp fire? If we use wood from the area


then we do not have to fear bringing in new insects. Here is an activity to show what can happen when

we move firewood.

Everyone will get a Popsicle stick with some insects on it and a tracking sheet. When you get

your tracking sheet please put the color of the insects you have, as well as the number of the insects you

have and the letter on your Popsicle stick. Pretend that your Popsicle stick is a log. You will be moving

your log around the world complete with the bugs that live in it. Every time you move you will have to

trade an insect with another person. It will be an even trade, you will give them an insect and they will

give you one in return. Make sure you write down the number of the insect you gave them and the

number of the insect they gave you. When you have traded five times please sit back down. Everybody

ready? Go… (Visitors move around and trade insects.)

We are going to look at one specific insect, Green bug number one. This is going to represent the

Emerald Ash Borer. Who has green bug number one now? And have you had it from the beginning or did

you trade with someone to get it? You traded. What letter is your log? A (write that down) and who did

you trade with? Number five? Who has a trade between number one and five on their sheet? And did you

have insect number one on your log originally? No who did you trade with and what is the letter on your

log? (This keeps going until you find who had the log originally.)

Now we are going to map the movement. Originally, the first person who had insect number one

was a log from Region F. Region F and E on this map were the only two original infected regions. When

the log from region F was moved to region C the emerald Ash borer moved too. Before the logs were

burned the Emerald Ash Borer escaped and laid eggs in a tree. This infected region C. (Keep tracing the

process and have visitors put up the Velcro paths to show where the insect moved.

How else can we help stop the Emerald Ash Borer? (Take suggestions) We can look at our Ash

trees and see if there are any new infestations of the Emerald Ash Borer. If there are new outbreaks we

can contact the government so that they know where the new outbreaks are. This helps the government

keep track and cut down infected trees and kill some of the Emerald Ash Borer beetles. It also shows the

government where they can release three species of wasps from China called Spathius agrili, Tetrastichus

planipennisi and Oobius agrili. These wasps kill the Emerald Ash Borer by feeding on their larvae.

Before you leave you will get a bag with a seed and a handout. You can plant this seed to help

restore some of the trees we have lost to the Emerald Ash Borer. In this way we can help create more

trees just like planting the Anne Frank sapling has helped us to restore the memory of Anne’s Tree. If

you take a picture of the tree you planted send it to the website on the handout and we will put it on our

website. You can also send us pictures of trees you find that have the Emerald Ash Borer. Those pictures

can also be sent to Gary Simon the person in charge of documenting new outbreaks of the Emerald Ash

Borer in the state of Indiana. If you document a tree we will put it on our website. This will help us put an

end to the spread of the Emerald Ash Borer.

Evaluation: Ask visitors to send a picture of the tree they planted and post it on the TCM

website. Visitors can also send in pictures of local Ash trees infected by the Emerald Ash Borer

and share the locations of trees they have documented. Directly after the program, visitors could

share something they learned about conservation on the Power of Children’s, Tree of Promise.


Discussion of Potential Results

I think this program is valuable because it teaches young children the importance of

conservation. It gives them a simple way to modify their behavior that will have a significant

impact on their environment. The program also empowers visitors by giving them the necessary

skills to diagnose and report the Emerald Ash Borer. This helps people feel like they are making

a difference. Finally, I think that this program is valuable because it will provide visitors with a

tree of their own that they can grow and nurture. This will help add to the world’s tree

population.

One of the potential problems I see with this program is securing the seeds or saplings.

The sponsors that the museum is looking into so far have not responded. However, I think that

there are many nurseries in the area and if the museum asked each of them to donate a few seeds,

there would be a sustainable amount of seeds. Additionally, I have timed the program and it lasts

about twenty minutes. If the facilitator does not give clear directions, I can see the program

taking longer and as a result time would become a problem.

informal education workshop about anne frank and environmental conservation

Education