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We recorded a live webinar of the program in case you missed it!

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Super Animal Superpowers at Calaveras Big Trees

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If you have a library card, you can get a free pass for ANY state park! Go to your local library and check it out (literally!).

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What?

In partnership with the First Partner's Office and the California State Library, State Parks is providing free vehicle day-use entry to over 200 participating state park units operated by State Parks for check out to library-card holders. The California State Library Parks Pass is valid for entry of one passenger vehicle with capacity of nine people or less or one highway licensed motorcycle.

Who?

California public library-card holders can check out the State Library Parks Pass via their local public library. If you don't have a library card, visit your local library to get one. The library card and park pass are free!

How?

Each library location will receive passes, including mobile libraries, for checkout by library patrons. Library patrons will be able to check out the pass for the allotted number of days allowed by the local library. Check with your library for guidelines and policies for returning your pass. Find your local public library at The passes are not available at the California State Library, nor do you need a special card to check them out. Watch this library.ca.gov/branches. video on how to get your pass.

Where?

The pass entitles the user to a free vehicle day-use entry for one passenger vehicle with capacity of nine people or less or one highway licensed motorcycle at over 200 participating state park units. To view an interactive map with California's public libraries and nearby participating state parks, .

The pass will not be honored at state park units operated by federal or local government and private agencies or concessionaires. Also, the pass is not valid for per-person entry or tour fees (such as museums), boat use, camping, group use or sites, special events, additional/extra vehicle fees, sanitation disposal use or for supplemental fees. To see a list of parks not accepting the pass click here, and read full terms and conditions here.
Free Passes Available for Purchase

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California State Parks, State of California

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In partnership with the First Partner's Office and the California State Library, State Parks is providing free vehicle day-use entry to over 200 participating state park units operated by State Parks for check out to library-card holders. The California State Library Parks Pass is valid for entry of one passenger vehicle with capacity of nine people or less or one highway licensed motorcycle.

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Did you know California State Parks has a parks pass specifically for 4th graders? All you have to do is go to the site, sign up, and the 4th grader will receive a parks pass in the mail good for the whole school year. While it doesn't cover every park, Calaveras Big Trees is covered!

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What?

In partnership with the First Partner's Office and the Natural Resources Agency, the California State Park Adventure Pass provides free entry for fourth graders and their families at 19 amazing state parks throughout the state. Mountains, deserts, forests, rivers ... the choice of where to visit is yours. Learn more About the California State Park Adventure Pass.

Who?

You (a fourth grader from California), your family (up to three adults and other kids) and friends (everyone in your car) can enjoy all sorts of adventures at 19 state parks during your whole fourth grade year-and the summer, too. This Pass is valid for the one-year period during which the child is a 4th grader or 4th grade equivalent, from September 1 to August 31 of that year. For full terms and conditions, click here.

How?

Have your parent or guardian go to ReserveCalifornia.com or call (800) 444-7275. All they have to do is set up a profile by providing their name, address, phone number and email address, and we'll send them your free California State Park Adventure Pass to their email right away! For individuals who do not have access to a smartphone, computer or printer and/or do not have an email address, they can still get a pass by visiting a State Parks Pass Sales Office. for a list of locations.

Where?

Once you've got your Pass, you can use it by either printing it out or keeping it on your phone to show a uniformed state park staffer at one of these 19 state parks.
Free Passes Available for Purchase

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California State Parks, State of California

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In partnership with the First Partner's Office and the Natural Resources Agency, the California State Park Adventure Pass provides free entry for fourth graders and their families at 19 amazing state parks throughout the state. Mountains, deserts, forests, rivers ... the choice of where to visit is yours.

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Look through our park brochure if you'd like to learn more about the park! A map of the park is inside.

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Use this notes catcher to help your students frame their learning during the program!

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This program used to be all about the wintertime. Curious what we talked about? Here is a recording of it on YouTube!

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Winter Superpowers at Calaveras Big Trees

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Watch this excellent video reviewing different kinds of animal adaptations with examples.

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Animal Adaptations for Kids, Learn about physical, life cycle, and behavioral adaptations of animals

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Review one of the most important ways for an animal to hide- camouflage!

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Every late September-early October, Katmai National Park runs Fat Bear week to celebrate the fat bears before they hibernate! Want to participate next year? Use this link to learn more!

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Choose the fattest bear of the year! Some of the largest brown bears on Earth make their home at Brooks River in Katmai National Park, Alaska. Brown bears get fat to survive and Fat Bear Week is an annual tournament celebrating their success in preparation for winter hibernation.

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It's important to be respectful of any wild animals! With bears, being respectful means keeping your distance and not leaving out food for them. Learn more about what you should do when visiting bear country by reading the park's webpage.

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California State Parks, State of California

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We don't always get a ton of snow at Big Trees, but when we do, there may be a subnivium (also spelled subnivean) zone! This is the secret fortress under the snow full of animals using the sticky nature of snow to build homes and tunnels.

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Written with contributions from Aubrey Ellickson, Tom Finley, and Don Quintenz
Animals' lifestyles are transformed by the accumulation of snow, and winter is often filled with animal activity that we can't see. One place this happens is beneath the snow, where myriad animal relationships occur within the space of an ecology altered by weather conditions. This place is called the subnivean zone.

"Sub" means beneath, and "niv" translates from Latin as snow. The subnivean zone is an opening beneath the snow where small mammals live during winter, with connecting tunnels made by them to travel through, hunt prey, and gather plant material. In snow of six inches or more, the subnivean zone maintains a temperature at the ground surface around 32 degrees Fahrenheit, regardless of the air temperature above the snow. These zones mostly occur in prairies, and if you know where to look, you can often see traces of invisible lives hidden in plain sight in the form of ventilation holes, tunnel openings, and animal tracks.

How the Subnivean Zone Forms

A couple of processes can create a subnivean zone. One is snow build-up near a rock, shrub, or tall prairie grasses. Snow falls and accumulates, partially melts and then re-freezes, creating a harder layer. Often, a space exists under or beside the rock, shrub, or dead grasses where the snow has frozen. This open area will be preserved by the new snow. More snow may fall, freezing and creating more layers while leaving the open space intact.

Another method is through sublimation. Near the earth, it's a little warmer than the ambient temperature. When snow falls and accumulates, a small cavity at the earth's surface is created. Here, the snow can transform directly into a gas. This gaseous water will rise and refreeze at the top of the cavity formed by the melted snow, making a hard layer on the inside of it.

Inside the Subnivean Zone

Meadow voles and other mice live in the open spaces beneath the snow, subsisting on grasses, the bark of shrubs, and autumn seeds. The vole does very well by taking advantage of the niche made by the subnivean zone. Voles will actually create complete underground quarters with an eating room, bathroom, and sleeping room. They are successful because they can reproduce at any time of the year. Within the subnivean zone, weasels and shrews are the main predators. Weasels hunt voles and mice in the tunnels leading to the living spaces, doing so with a narrow body that can slide easily through small openings. Long-tailed and Short-tailed Shrews, who are in constant motion, also hunt in the subnivean zone, also eating voles and deer mice.

Outside the Subnivean Zone

Other animals exist on the surface of the snow, in the supernivean layer. These snow loving animals, known as chionophiles, have special adaptations that allow them to thrive in harsh winters. White-footed Mice have large feet, which allow them to travel on top of the snow at times, although they sometimes cache their food in the subnivean zone.

Owls, foxes, and coyotes, are able to take advantage of subnivean inhabitants by hunting from above. The ability of owls to hear, including irrupting Snowy Owls, is much greater than ours. They listen for activity beneath the snow and swoop in to capture prey when they sense movement. Foxes and coyotes, with their acute hearing, also listen for prey as well as sniff them out, pouncing on unsuspecting mice as they traverse through their tunnels. Foxes and coyotes are primarily nocturnal, and are able to hunt at dusk because of their incredible eyesight. In winter, they grow longer, thicker coats that allow them to hunt even in the coldest weather.

While weasels hunt within the subnivean zone, they spend much time outside it and wear a winter camouflage. They turn white, except for a dark spot at the tip of their tail. This black spot lures predators away from their body, preventing them from being caught.

Surviving the Snow

Eastern Gray Squirrels survive winter by relying on accumulated body fat, as well as storing nuts in small caches. They find their food through memory and a keen sense of smell, able to detect their cache under snow up to a foot deep. These squirrels live in insulated stick nests found in the forks of tree branches or in dens in living trees.

For some animals, snow can present a barrier to mobility and finding food. Raccoons will stay home if they have enough fat, though smaller ones will need to come out and hunt. Wolves follow each other's footprints in the snow to help them move using less energy, assisting them through otherwise impassable terrain. Deer congregate under certain conditions to form deeryards in the forest. There is not as much snow and food is plentiful in them. These animals survive, but don't thrive in the snow.

Without the Snow

Animals have adaptions for normal seasonal changes. Unpredictable weather patterns due to climate change can mean difficulty for some subnivean animals. When snow melts quickly or too soon, voles are vulnerable to being flooded out of their winter homes. Yet, if there is a winter without snow, voles can live a normal existence in the prairie. Weasels' seasonal camouflage is based on day length. They develop their white winter coat at the same time each year even if there isn't snow, making them more vulnerable to predators.

The subnivean zone is an invisible place for the most part, populated with creatures living out of view. Even though it goes mostly unnoticed by humans, this zone is crucial for a variety of animals to survive winter; those within the zone, and those on top of the snow.

Visit the Center on a snow-filled day to find animal tracks, traces to tunnel entrances, and discover clues to these hidden homes beneath the snow.

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Beneath the Snow: The Subnivean Zone - Schlitz Audubon

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Animals' lives are transformed by winter. Some animals spend the winter living beneath the snow in a hidden area called the subnivean zone.

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It's not just chameleons that can change their color! This video talks about some cool critters that shed their fur or feathers to better blend in, also called camouflage, with the winter snow!

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Endothermic vs Exothermic- Let's get SCIENCE-Y!

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Endothermic vs Exothermic- Let's get SCIENCE-Y!

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In the program we often discuss cold vs warm blooded animals. Watch this video to learn more science-y terms to describe these critters!

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A Minute with Nature - Warm-Blooded and Cold-Blooded Animals

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No, birds don't hibernate in lakes, but some do travel thousands of miles to migrate! This video talks about some great examples of extreme migrating birds and how scientists track them.

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Food storage is incredibly important for the animals that stay behind in the winter. Watch this video and think about what adaptations squirrels need to store and find their food!

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How Do Squirrels Find the Food they Hide? | How Animals Prepare for Winter | SciShow Kids

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This awesome resource shows migrating birds- LIVE! Check on it throughout the year to see how the movement changes through the seasons!

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BirdCast - Bird migration forecasts in real-time

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When, where, and how far will birds migrate? How many birds passed last night? Our tools help you explore the answers to these and many other questions about bird migration.

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Animals do all sorts of things to survive the winter- one is hibernation! But what does that mean exactly? This video is a great introduction to hibernation.

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Why Do Some Animals Hibernate? | Winter Science | SciShow Kids

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Watch this fascinating short video introducing the process of how trees survive in winter!

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Try out this notes organizer during and after the program!

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These amphibians are literally freezing when it gets cold outside! But how do they do it and survive? This is another great example of weird winter adaptations.

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The Secret of Frozen Frogs! | Winter Science | SciShow Kids

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Wondering how exactly a burrow keeps an animal warm and an igloos keeps people nice and cozy? Watch this great video to learn all about it!

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Want to learn more weird tree adaptations for the bitter cold? This video delves into the crazy biology of some extreme trees. It gets fairly complicated so better for older, high school students.

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Fresh snow is a great way to find animal tracks! Sometimes you find a track and it's hard to figure out what animal made it. These are three animal tracks we find at our park!