Trekking through the Rocky Mountains Oregon Trail was an arduous journey. Too, I have more ideas and activities on my Westward Ho Unit Study and Lapbook.
The Rocky Mountain National Park was established in Colorado on January 26th, 1915.
In honor of this amazing National Park, I thought we would take a virtual trip by creating a miniature section of the Rocky Mountains with a diorama.
And to be more specific, we’re creating it as it might have looked along the Rocky Mountains Oregon Trail section.
How exciting and scary a time it must have been.
The Rocky Mountains are distinctive and easily identifiable just by their silhouette but are unique depending on where you are along the western mountain chain.
We were inspired by this amazing drawing of the Cherokee Pass through the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. It is by Daniel Jenks from 1859.
And we created this fun and large diorama with just a few different simple items.
But first look at these facts about the Rocky Mountains.
Rocky Mountain Facts
- The Rocky Mountains stretch through more than 3000 miles and over 6 states which are New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana.
- Rocky Mountain is one of the nation’s highest national parks.
- There are many indigenous people living in the Rocky Mountains like Bannock, Sioux, Blackfoot, Cow People, Apache, Kutenai, and more.
- There is a super volcano in the Rocky Mountains called Yellowstone Caldera. It’s located in the Yellowstone National Park in the United States.
- The Rocky Mountain National Park is open all year.
- In 1806, the Lewis and Clark Expedition became the first scientific reconnaissance of the Rocky Mountains; they gathered a lot of important information as well as specimens.
- There are over 250 different bird species which live in the Rocky Mountain National Park.
- The Rocky Mountains are rich with natural resources like gold, silver, copper, tungsten, zinc, molybdenum, and lead.
- The Rockies have over 100 separate ranges.
- Bighorn sheep are the symbol of Rocky Mountain National Park and there are over 400 residing in the park.
Westward Expansion Resources
Also, add some of these fun books.
10 Westward Expansion Resources
Add in a few books and resources to bring the study of the Oregon Trail to life during the United States expansion of the west.
Your Life as a Pioneer on The Oregon Trail, has some funny illustrations and great information for this unit study.
Of course ALL the Little House Books are some of the best about pioneer life.
The Ingalls are the most famous pioneers and westward moving families.
A True Book: Westward Expansion takes readers on an amazing journey to a fascinating time in U.S. history when the country was experiencing dynamic change and expanding westward.
In this boxed set, choose your own trail and complete the journey to Oregon City with all four paperbacks in this exciting series! It's 1850 and your first goal is to get your family, covered wagon full of supplies, and oxen to Chimney Rock on time.
- It's a race to Willamette Valley as you join the wagon train and seek your fortune in the West!
Apples, ho! When Papa decides to pull up roots and move from Iowa to Oregon, he can’t bear to leave his precious apple trees behind. Or his peaches, plums, grapes, cherries, and pears. Oh, and he takes his family along too.
It is the summer of 1869, and trains, crews, and family are traveling together, riding America’s brand-new transcontinental railroad. These pages come alive with the details of the trip and the sounds, speed, and strength of the mighty locomotives; the work that keeps them moving; and the thrill of travel from plains to mountain to
ocean
Try your luck, and search for your fortune in California! Follow the joy and heartbreak of the '49ers during the California Gold Rush.
In 1853, the Larkin family loaded up their wagons and headed west in search of a new life. But how did they do it? What did they eat? How did they survive sickness, and attacks from cattle thieves? Drawing on diaries and letters, and illustrated with photographs of actual object from the past, Daily Life in a Covered Wagon explored what life was really like on the wagon trail.
Illustrations and simple rhyming text follow Mother, Father, and Baby John as they make the difficult journey by wagon to a new home across the Rocky Mountains in the fertile Sacramento Valley of California. By the creators of Gold Fever.
Additionally, learn about some of the animals which lives in the Rocky Mountains.
Rocky Mountain Animals and Birds
If you were a pioneer heading west through the Rocky Mountain Oregon Trail, what type of wildlife would you see?
This is the perfect next step to create a mini study from this project.
Let your child choose one of the animals that are common to the Rocky Mountains and create a report, write a story, paint a picture, or create a presentation on their chosen animal.
- Brown Bears
- Coyote
- BigHorn Sheep
- Black Bear
- Mule Deer
- Mountain Lion
- Gray Wolf
- Elk
Also, look at some of the birds.
- Yellowthroat
- Red Crossbill
- Nuthatch
- Dipper
- Meadowlark
- Towhee
- Song Sparrow
Additionally, here are more hands-on Westward Expansion Activities.
Hands-on Westward Expansion Activities
- Pioneer Living and Cloth Dyeing (Hands-on History)
- Hands-on History: Make Maple Snow Candy – Pioneer Activity
- 10 Westward Expansion History Fun Coloring Pages
- Hands-on Fun Shrunken Head Apple
- Fun No Sew Pioneer Rag Doll For Kids Westward Expansion Activity
- Pioneer Peg Dolls For Kids Westward Expansion Hands On Activities
- 7 Educational Movies for Kids About Westward Expansion
- Free Westward Ho History Cards
- National Bison Day: Make Fun Oregon Trail Bison Jerky With Kids
Finally, look at how to make this Rocky Mountains Oregon Trail diorama.
Besides the little Safari Ltd. Toob animals you can get everything used in this diorama from Dollar Tree with plenty of supplies left over for future projects.
How to Make a Rocky Mountain Oregon Trail Diorama
You will need:
- A foam board
- Paper bags
- Newspaper
- Aluminum foil
- Craft paint
- Paintbrushes
- Blue and green cardstock
- Hot glue gun/sticks
Put puddles of brown, gray, and green paints on a paper plate.
Wad up a small piece of newspaper up and dip it in your paints.
Press the newspaper around the foam board as if you were sponge painting.
Cover the foam board with a light coat of the mixed colors to represent the rocks, grass, and earth.
Use a beige paint to create a trail going through the mountains. Set aside to dry while you begin working on the mountains.
Open 3-4 paper bags.
Slip them over your hand/arm one at a time and take the same paints and newspaper and cover all sides and the top of the bag.
Rocky Mountain Oregon Trail Diorama
You can leave some spots bare as the brown from the bag will blend in as earth.
Slip over a jar or something and allow it to dry completely.
Stuff the bags loosely with newspaper and foil as you like but not so full that you can’t “mold” it.
You just want them to give your bag some structure.
Twist and mold the bags to create the sharper angles and peaks of the Rocky Mountains silhouette.
Hot glue the base of the mountain along the back of your base board to secure into place.
Pinch and shape the mountains as needed to fix them up.
To create a water feature at the base of the mountain, tear up some blue paper in whatever shape you like and glue down.
Cut a bunch of green triangles of different sizes then make little cuts on each side to make pine trees.
Fold ⅛” piece of the bottom over and then glue them onto the board with the largest in front and the smallest closest to the mountains.
This creates some perspective.
Create the snow peaked caps by drizzling paint on the top and brush lightly just a little down the sides.
Finally, add some of the wildlife you would see traveling through the Rocky Mountains.
This North American Wildlife Safari Toob provided the bulk of the animals used here.
