Activities/Crafts
All About Trout – Key Habitats
Help the trout find a good home in this stream. Cut out the life stages of the trout and paste them into the stream where they can survive best.
Build a Watershed – Just add Water (Activity from PFBC’s WILD About PA Fishes Curriculum)
This activity introduces participants to what a watershed is, how landscapes can influence the path of water, influence of land use and what “We all live downstream” means.
- (Video of Activity) Build a Watershed – Just add water
This video introduces viewers to an activity they can do to introduce students/kids to what a watershed is.
Habi-Trout Activity
Teachers or parents can utilize this activity from PFBC’s “WILD About PA Fishes” curriculum to introduce youth to basic methods of assessing stream habitat.
Healthy Lake Activity
Help the angler determine if this lake is healthy by circling the components of a lake food chain.
Healthy Streams Fishing Activity
Help the angler determine if this stream is healthy by circling the components of a coldwater stream food chain.
Pennsylvania Rivers Word Search
Find the river-related words in this fun word search.
Vernal Pool Word Search
Find the vernal pool words in this fun word search.
Water Cycle and Water Pollution Word Search
Find water cycle and water pollution words in this fun word search.
Water Quality
Test your water quality knowledge with this word search.
Watershed Review
Using the Winter 2019 PLAY issue: "Water Flows Through PA", test your knowledge of the six watersheds found in Pennsylvania.
Coloring Pages
PLAY Newsletters
You can find additional activities and crafts on the last page of every PLAY (Pennsylvania League of Angling Youth) newsletter!
"My Adventures" write-your-own story booklet
With this 12-page activity booklet you can write-your-own adventure about a trip on or near a PA waterway (e.g. stream, river, pond, lake). You can also share something you learn, share how you would teach someone else about what you learned, and share a memory that you will keep with you as you grow. Begin your story today!
PLAY: Dive into Stream Ecology
PLAY issue containing the following articles-
Dive into Stream Ecology; Stream Types- Look a Little Deeper; Ingredients of a Healthy Stream; A "Tree-ific" Coldwater Stream Food Chain; Benefits and Threats; How Can You Help; and Healthy Streams Fishing Activity.
PLAY: Good Fishing Needs Good Habitat
PLAY issue containing the following articles –
Good Fishing Needs Good Habitat; Recipe for a Healthy Stream; Stream Improvement Toolbox; Lake Improvement Toolbox; Help this Habitat (activity).
PLAY: H2O on the GO
PLAY issue containing the following articles –
H2O on the Go; The Water Cycle; Water Cycle and Pollution; Pollution Points; Water Cycle and Water Pollution (word search).
PLAY: Jump Into Lake Ecology
PLAY issue containing the following articles-
Jump into Lake Ecology; Lake Types- How Lakes Form; Lake Zones; Life in the Lake; Benefits and Threats; How Can YOU Help; and Healthy Lake Activity.
PLAY: Rivers Run Through Pennsylvania
PLAY issue containing the following articles-
Rivers Run Through Pennsylvania; All About Rivers; River Habitats; River Food Web; Rivers of Life; and Pennsylvania Rivers (word search).
PLAY: Vernal Pools
PLAY issue containing the following articles-
Vernal Pool Vocabulary; All About Vernal Pools; Ecology and Life Cycles; Vernal Pool Indicator Species; Vernal Pool Facultative Species; Functions and Values; and Vernal Pool Word Search.
PLAY: Watersheds and Stream Order
PLAY issue that discusses what a watershed is and the concept of stream order.
PLAY: Where Do They Go In Winter?
PLAY issue containing the following articles –
Where Do They Go In Winter; Finding Fish Under the Frozen Water; A Warm Place for Winter; Living in Cold Water; Frozen Alive; and A-Mazing Winter Survival (maze game).
Videos
Playlists
The following two links are playlists that will take you through all of PFBC’s videos related to aquatic habitat, conservation and pollution OR you can go through them individually by clicking links below.
Abandoned Mine Drainage Virtual Field Trip
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In this playlist, Rachel Kester, of PA Council of Trout Unlimited, and Kelly Williams, of the Clearfield County Conservation District, take you on a virtual field trip exploring a common issue that effects Pennsylvania’s waterways: Abandoned Mine Drainage (AMD). They will cover exactly what AMD is, how AMD effects both the aquatic life and the people that live within the watershed, and how certain improvement practices can help to clean up AMD impaired waterways.
Lake Habitat Project at Frances Slocum State Park
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This video features another one of PFBC’s numerous lake habitat projects across the state. The success of projects, like this one, is attributed to local, County and State partners, as well as, local volunteers. Check out the video caption to learn more about this project.
Lake Habitat Section Virtual Field Trip
Join PA Fish and Boat Commission Lake Habitat Section Chief, Ben Page, along the banks of Raystown Lake, while he introduces you to - * His Career Path, and mentors that helped him get to where he is with the agency *What PFBC's Lake Habitat Section does * Catfish Habitat Work * Panfish Habitat Work and * Turtle Habitat Work.
Nonpoint Source Pollution Virtual Field Trip playlist
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In this playlist, Renee' Carey, of the Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy, and Shannon Stamm, of the Union County Conservation District, take you on a virtual field trip covering nonpoint source pollution and a couple of their improvement projects.
Redd Count Virtual Field Trip
Join PFBC's Chesapeake Bay Watershed Habitat Unit as they take you on a virtual field trip! Through this virtual field trip, you will learn what a trout redd is, how the PFBC conducts a redd count survey, and what redd surveys can tell us about a population. You will also learn about the goals of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Habitat Unit and how they strive to achieve those goals.
Stream Habitat Section Virtual Field Trip
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Take a PFBC Virtual Field Trip to a Stream Habitat Improvement Project! This playlist/series takes you on a field trip to one of PFBC’s Stream Habitat Improvement Projects in Cambria County, PA. The videos introduce you to our Stream Habitat Section, the importance of stream habitat, stream habitat design and permitting, stream habitat truck and equipment tour, project overview, completed habitat structures, followed by a video on how and why PFBC creates stream habitat.
Watersheds, Water Cycles, and Stream Orders playlist
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In this playlist, PFBC introduces viewers to what a watershed is, the water cycle, what stream orders are, and even takes you to a few streams, sharing what their stream order number is.
Water Quality Lab- Virtual Field Trip
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Join PFBC staff Mindy McClenahan and Aimee Nungesser as they take you on a virtual tour of the Water Quality Lab located at the Benner Springs Fish Culture and Research Station in State College, PA. Through this virtual tour you will be introduced to the Water Quality Lab, you will learn about some of the water quality parameters PFBC tests for, and why the PFBC tests for them.