Coastal Prairies and Marshlands

Hi, Kids. I'm Dr. Dirt, the armadillo archeologist, and I'm here to tell you about some fun and historic adventures you can have as we learn about the Texas coastal region. We can travel with the explorer Cabeza de Vaca as he walks barefoot and nearly naked through the Texas brush country, living on cactus and roots. Or we can explore the French ship La Belle which sank off the coast of Texas over 300 years ago! Not only do we learn about some fascinating artifacts, but we get to analyze the bones of a real French sailor to discover how he lived and died! If you are feeling creative, we can color pictures showing how people lived along the Texas coast for thousands of years.

Choose your first adventure and let's get going! Yeeha!

Color the Past of the Coastal Plains

Print out the five black and white drawings of life along the Texas coast. In each picture are clues to how native groups thrived in this rich environment, from camping on the beach to digging up some seafood and onions for dinner. Yum! You can color, paint, cut, trace, and learn about Texas' past at the same time!

Death on Board La Belle: Clues from the Bones

Excavate the French ship, La Belle, which wrecked off the coast of Texas in 1685! Conduct real scientific analysis on the skeleton of one of the sailors who went down with the ship to find clues about life as a 17th- century explorer.

Journey with an Explorer

Cabeza de Vaca, the famous Spanish explorer, had a very tough time in south Texas in the early 1500s. Who wouldn't, after shipwrecking near Florida and sailing to Texas on rafts? Learn how he lived among the coastal Indians, and ate some pretty wild food!