Hands On Crafts for Kids

Show 708

North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas

708-1 Dream Catcher – The Lakota Native American Tribe of the Plains states developed the dream catcher. One day a child was going to kill a spider that was weaving a web. A Native American Woman told the child to leave the spider alone. In return, the spider told the woman he would thank her by weaving a web with a small center that would snag all the bad dreams while the good dreams would filter through and then glide down along the feathers.

708-2 On the Range – Buffalo – Buffalo thrived on the Great Plains where at one time 30 million formed the biggest mass of large mammals ever found on the earth. Now the only buffalo are found in preserves. Buffalo are really more accurately called bison.

708-3 Quilled Sunflower – The sunflower is the state flower of Kansas. At one time it was considered a weed but in 1903 it was adopted as the state flower and is on the states seal and flag. The sunflower ranks as one of the most commercially valuable flowers. It yields sunflower oil and of course seeds.

708-4 Wheat Bookmark – The plains states are known for their production of wheat – especially Kansas. Today, the United States is the world's third largest producer of wheat thanks to a group of Russian immigrants who settled in Kansas in 1873-4. . Wheat is ground and made into flour for baking foods. Durum wheat is used to make pasta. Wheat can be puffed, flaked, or rolled to make breakfast cereals.

708-5 Mt. Rushmore – One of the most famous landmarks in the United States is Mt. Rushmore, in the Black Hills of South Dakota. You can find the faces of 4 American presidents: Theodore Roosevelt, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson. Each face is 60 ft. high 500 feet up in the air. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum began drilling into the 5,725-foot mountain in 1927. Creation of the Shrine of Democracy took 14 years and cost only $1 million dollars.