Description
Explore the Science of Forestry with the Forester’s Tool Kit!
Available to formal and non-formal educators in Regions 1&2 (communities north of Riggins, ID).
To request a kit, contact plt@idahoforests.org. 
Bring the world of forestry to life with our Forester’s Tool Kit—designed to engage students in real-world STEM learning through hands-on investigations of trees, forests, and the tools professionals use to study them.
Features:
- Authentic Forestry Tools: Includes increment borers, logger’s tape, clinometers, and compasses—real instruments used by foresters in the field.
- Microscopic Exploration: Each kit comes with Foldscopes, durable and affordable paper microscopes that allow students to examine leaves, bark, and other natural materials up close.
- Instructional Guides: Clear, step-by-step instructions introduce each tool and guide learners through engaging forestry activities.
- View our collection of lesson plans here.
- Supplemental Resources: Posters, lesson plans, and data collection sheets to support learning about tree growth, forest management, and ecological connections.
Benefits:
- Real-World Skills: Students learn to measure tree height, diameter, and age—just like a professional forester!
- STEM Access and Equity: Foldscopes make microscopy accessible to all learners, encouraging curiosity and close observation.
- Interdisciplinary Learning: Integrate science, math, geography, and environmental studies through outdoor data collection and analysis.
Standards Alignment
Science
Disciplinary Core Ideas – Life Science, Earth and Space Science
Science and Engineering Practices – Planning and Carrying Out Investigations, Analyzing and Interpreting Data, Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking, Constructing Explanations
Crosscutting Concepts – Patterns, Scale, Proportion and Quantity, Systems and System Models
Math
Standards for Mathematical Practice – Model with mathematics, Use appropriate tools strategically, Attend to precision, Reason abstractly and quantitatively
ELA
Strands – Informational Text, Writing Explanatory Texts, Research, Vocabulary Development
To request a kit, contact plt@idahoforests.org.
Forester’s Tool Kits were supported by the Idaho STEM EcosySTEM.
