Hi Neighbor.

Welcome to the Great Prairie Adventure!

I’m your guide through this grand opening exploration of the Kinder Land Bridge and Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Prairie here at Memorial Park.

Your Mission

• Follow the map inside this passport booklet.

• Visit some or all of the 13 Great Prairie Adventure activity stations on the map.

• Earn a stamp for your book at each station.

• Choose your adventure—east, west or both!

When you finish, take your booklet to the Prize Stations for a special Prairie Explorer prize. (Look for my acorn on the map to find the Prize Stations.)

• You don’t have to go in order or visit all 13 stations in order to get a prize.

• Learn all about the Land Bridge & Prairie along the way!

Be Our Guest!

Come back again to explore and play at Memorial Park. Climb the Emily Clay Family Scramble, experience Houston from atop the Kinder Land Bridge, watch and learn about the plants and animals of the Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Prairie as they grow and change in the years to come.

EAST ADVENTURE: Stations 1 through 7

Where the Water Wanders

Did You Know? The Land Bridge was designed to support the flow of water through Memorial Park on its way to Buffalo Bayou. The tunnel underneath Memorial Drive moves water to the Prairie, where the prairie plants get to work filtering the water that they absorb.

Activity: Whoa, H2O!

Watch our homemade Water Filtration Station in action. See in real time the way different materials filter the water. Which combination keeps the water cleanest?

Soil Soil + rocks Soil + Plants

Green Over Gray

Did You Know? These concrete steps used to be part of Memorial Drive! When the new roadway was built to go through the tunnels, pieces of the old road were recycled to create the Emily Clay Family Scramble up to the top of the Land Bridge East Hill. It is a perfect addition for Memorial Park’s runners, climbers, and dreamers.

Passport Activity: Reduce, Recycle, Reimagine

Think twice before you throw away a plastic bottle! Find the painted striping from the old roadway—look for signs of previous use. Just as the old pieces of Memorial Drive have been turned into something new here at the Scramble, you can recycle and re-imagine items you use at home. One idea could be making a bird feeder. Take home our “do it yourself” instructions and see what you come up with!

How Did the Critter Cross the Road?

Did You Know? The Critter Crossing underneath the Land Bridge is designed to let light in, and has special ledges for animals so that they can have a safe and dry crossing underneath the road. (Some of them don’t like to get their feet wet!) Hunt for these in the interpretive elements, but you’ll have to come back to see them.

Passport Activity: Critter ID

What animals do you think you’d see using the Critter Crossing? Circle them:

Build a Prairie

Congratulations on getting your own mini–Harris County Prairie in a bag!

Native prairies are an important part of our local ecosystem. There are many wildlife and insect species who depend on prairie habitats. For best results, plant your seeds before April 1st. They will remain dormant until the spring warmth arrives. If you plant in fall or winter, don’t expect to see any growth until later. Enjoy your mini-prairie!

Did You Know? Keeping a prairie healthy often involves people, not just plants! Special machines, controlled burns, and even grazing animals (think goats and bison) are used to help the cycle of renewal that is required for a prairie to mature.

Passport Activity: Prairie in a Bag

Take your own kit to grow a prairie at home.

To germinate (December- March)

1. Locate a place in your yard that gets full sun and is about 16 square feet.

2. Clear all plant material to create a bare spot of ground.

3. Rough up the surface with a rake.

4. Sprinkle the seeds out evenly over the area.

5. Gently firm them to the ground, by lightly patting them with an open hand to make sure they have good contact with the soil.

6. Water the area as needed to keep it moist but not overly wet. (a normal year in Houston provides the needed moisture)

Tip for success: Sprinkling ¼” of a fine mulch, potting soil, or compost will help to hold moisture for the seeds to germinate and keep the birds from eating your seeds.

Your seed bag potentially contains the following Texas native species:

Blazing Star

Blanket Flower

Rattlesnake Master

Little Bluestem

Button Bush

Longspike Tridens

White Tridens

Bluemist Flower

Texas Yellow Star

Green Milkweed

Lemon Mint

Lyre-Leaf Sage

Black-eyed Susan

Clasping

Coneflower

Plains Coreopsis

Purple Lovegrass

Texas Wintergrass

Maximilian

Sunflower

Switchgrass

Winecup

Eryngo

Florida Paspalum

5

Where the Buffalo Roam: Rodeo Roundup

The stars at night are big and bright Deep in the Heart of Texas

The prairie sky is wide and high Deep in the Heart of Texas

Did You Know? For thousands of years, the Coastal Prairie defined life and formed the identity of Southern Texas—beginning with the native Tonkawa, Akokisa, and Karankawa tribes to the early settlers, vaqueros, ranchers and the founders of the state. The prairie landscape is woven deeply into the fabric of Texas history and culture—from cattle culture and cowboys to barbecue and bluebonnets—all culminating in the annual Houston Livestock Show and RodeoTM.

Each year, Trail Riders from all over the region make their way on horseback and wagon to Memorial Park to camp out before making their grand entrance into Houston for Go Texan Day and the kickoff to The Houston Livestock Show and RodeoTM.

Passport Activity: Rodeo Roping

Test your lassoing skills! Can you rope the dummy?

The Power of Plants

Did You Know? The prairie is full of plant helpers. The Indigenous people who cared for this land have had a long history working with the healing power of plants. Used properly, they act as medicine or remedies for all kinds of ailments.

Passport Activity:

Follow the clues on the photos to match the plants with their medicinal properties.