Bring the Forest Home with You by Casting an Animal’s Tracks

By Cat Rose

Have you ever spotted an animal’s tracks on a walk in the forest? Tracks are important signs of wildlife activity in Ontario’s forests and can tell us stories about the animals that live there. In this experiment, we will learn how to cast a track in plaster and save it as a forest memento. You can also use your cast to identify the animal that created it and make art!

This experiment is perfect for when you’re on a muddy hike, camping trip, or even feel like experimenting in your own backyard! Spring and fall are the best times to go searching for tracks. This experiment only takes 45 minutes to complete, but you’ll need to search for tracks beforehand and let your cast dry for a day before it's ready to clean and use. You can try this activity on your own, or with classmates, friends, or family.

Before you make a cast of your track, you’ll need to find one first. For this activity, it’s best to look for tracks in mud or sand. You can also look for nearby clues like claw marks and scratches on trees, broken twigs and leaves, and scat. If you’re looking for a handy identification guide to bring with you, Forests Ontario has one here.

If you can’t find a nearby track, you can do what I did for this experiment and make a track of your own! I made a cast of my own ‘track’ using only a few materials in a local park. Here is a fun way to take the forest home with you without negatively affecting the natural environment!

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You Will Need:

• Plaster
• Cold, clean water
• Mixing bowl
• Mixing spoon
• Piece of cardboard or manila folder
• Spare toothbrush
• Sharpie marker

If you are casting your own tracks, you may also need a soil pan with wet soil if the ground is too dry to leave a track behind.

Process:

1. First, search the area you are in for tracks.
2. Once you’ve found a track, take your cardboard, and place it around the track, into the soil, to make a mould for the plaster to pour into.
3. Mix the plaster with water by following the mixing instructions on the box. Only make enough that you can use in 6-10 minutes, otherwise, the plaster will start to dry. You can always make more if you didn’t make enough!
4. Once the plaster is mixed in the bowl, pour the plaster into the cardboard, and cover the track completely. Fill the mould so that the plaster is completely covering the track and the mould is approximately 3-6 inches thick depending on the depth and size of the track in the soil.
5. Wait at least 30 minutes for the plaster to dry. Then, dig the cast out from the mud and start to carefully remove chunks of dirt and mud from the cast. Remove as much as possible, and then leave the remaining dirt to dry. Place your cast in a safe place overnight.
6. The next day, when the dirt on the cast has dried, take a dry toothbrush to the cast, and brush off the dirt to reveal your track!
7. Once your track is clean, you can label the back with the date you found the track, location, and type of animal using a Sharpie. You can also decorate your cast with markers, watercolor paints, and other materials to create an art piece, or save your track to start a collection!

Try this experiment at home with some soil and a tray in your backyard, at a park, or in a natural space with a real animal track like a forest!

For more forest fun, check out other educational resources available on our website.

Photo Credit: Cat Rose