Explore Yellowstone interactive software program lets kids experience the excitement, beauty, and science of Yellowstone National Park. All visitors will explore eight different regions of the park. See over 100 sites. Identify and classify hundreds of species. Test their knowledge by answering visitors’ questions. Help park researchers with 16 science inquiry projects. See how many ranger badges they can earn in each region through their park knowledge and research skills.
The Explore Yellowstone CD-ROM also features a multimedia guidebook with over 300 entries about the species and natural features of the park. The guidebook contains over 650 photos, dozens of sound recordings, charts and maps, and over 100 short videos depicting key animal behavior and answers from rangers and experts.
Explore Yellowstone offers a fascinating look into Yellowstone National Park through the eyes of a natural scientist. Students are rangers, working their way to the rank of Head Ranger. To earn badges and move ahead, they must identify plants and animals, answer visitors’ questions, perform experiments, and explore.
The untamed wild of Yellowstone is brought to life in more than a thousand multimedia resources. The Explore Yellowstone Guidebook even contains videos of experts as they explain life in Yellowstone. It is a captivating exploration into one of our great national treasures.
There are hundreds of fun activities and experiments that motivate students to learn about the vast 3,500 square miles of Yellowstone. As students move up in rank by successfully completing more activities, Explore Yellowstone becomes more challenging.
Features and Benefits
- Strong Educational Content!
Explore Yellowstone helps students expand their natural science knowledge – from earth science and ecosystem management to population dynamics and human responsibility. - A Great Science Tool!
Students build science skills as they locate and analyze information, develop hypotheses, and then use their newly gained insights to solve scientific problems. - Hands-on Exploration!
Explore Yellowstone’s hundreds of hands-on activities help students understand what it takes to become one of the experts who help to protect Yellowstone’s majestic wonders. - Engaging and Motivating!
Explore Yellowstone is challenging and fun. Students learn science and earn badges as they work their way up to be a head ranger of America’s first national park.
![[bear]](https://web.archive.org/web/19970203070144im_/http://www.mecc.com/products/science/expyell/multimedia/photos/grizbear.gif) | ![[wolf]](https://web.archive.org/web/19970203070144im_/http://www.mecc.com/products/science/expyell/multimedia/photos/wolf.gif) | ![[meadow]](https://web.archive.org/web/19970203070144im_/http://www.mecc.com/products/science/expyell/multimedia/photos/meadow.gif) |
Computer System Requirements Information
| Macintosh® Product Information | Windows® Product Information |
| CD-ROM System Compatibility: 68040 (Performa 575 or greater) System 7.1 or greater 5 MB RAM required (8 MB RAM recommended) 13″ or larger color display (640 x 480, 256-color) Double-speed CD-ROM drive Hard disk space | CD-ROM System Compatibility: 486 or greater Microsoft® Windows® 3.1 or greater 256-color SVGA display 4 MB RAM required (8 MB RAM recommended) Windows-compatible mouse Windows-compatible sound card Double-speed CD-ROM drive Hard disk space |
Home Version — The home version contains the standard Explore Yellowstone CD-ROM and user’s manual. The perfect package for home learning and entertainment.
| Target Audience: | Ages 8 and Up |
|---|---|
| MECC Learning Category: | Natural Science |
| Support Materials: | User’s Guide |
| Product Number: | HCD 648 |
| Retail Cost: | $34.95 |
School Version — In addition to the standard Explore Yellowstone CD-ROM, the school version contains a teacher’s manual with supplemental materials and lesson plans for instructors to use as they teach students about Yellowstone National Park and the natural sciences.
Target Audience: | Ages 8 and Up (Grades 3 and Up) |
|---|---|
| MECC Learning Category: | Natural Science |
| Support Materials: | User’s Guide Teacher’s Manual |
| Description | Product Number | Retail | Member |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single Product | HCD 648 | n/a | $55.00 |
| Lab Pack (5) | HCD 648LAB | n/a | $132.00 |
| 25 – Pack Site License | HCD 648BSL | n/a | $599.00 |
| 75 – Pack Site License | HCD 648DSL | n/a | $1500.00 |
Call MECC for details.
Web Sites
If you have ever used the World Wide Web, you know that there are lots of interesting sites to visit. Here are a few that we thought you would like. You can begin by looking at MECC’s own home page (http://www.mecc.co), where you will find lots of information about other MECC software, as well as links to Yellowstone Web sites.
Major Organizations
The National Park Service – http://www.nps.gov/This is where you go to find information about national parks in the U.S.A.The National Audubon Society – http://www.igc.apc.org/audubon/A respected conservation organization. Lots of general information about current campaigns and educational programs.The Smithsonian – http://www.si.edu/Detailed information about each of the museums, their programs and exhibits. The National Museum of Natural History – http://nmnhwww.si.edu/nmnhweb.htmlInformation about current research, museum programs and events, and links to other natural history resources on the World Wide Web.The National Wildlife Federation – http://www.igc.apc.org/nwf/A conservation organization. This is an excellent web site with activities for kids and resources for teachers.The Sierra Club – http://www.sierraclub.org/An organization devoted to conservation of the natural environment. Lots of interesting stuff.Earthwatch – http://gaia.earthwatch.org/An organization that sponsors scientific field research studies.Greenpeace – http://www.greenpeace.org/An international organization devoted to using non-violent means to solve environmental problems. You will find information about current Greenpeace campaigns around the world.Friends of the Earth – http://www.foe.co.uk/index.htmlA British environmental group.
Other Interesting Sites
Volcano Information – http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vw.htmlReally cool site with lots of information about volcanoes around the world, including maps and photos. There are even lesson plans for teachers!Proposed Gold Mine near Yellowstone – http://www.fsr.com/gyc/index.htmlThis site has detailed information about a proposed gold mine to be worked right on the edge of Yellowstone National Park. It has good information and pictures.The Greater Yellowstone Coalition – http://www.desktop.org/gycAn organization devoted to conserving Yellowstone’s precious natural resources.Environmental Science Information – http://www.webcom.com/earthtlk/earthscience.htmlDetailed information about the earth science, ecology, archaeology and anthropology, and palaeontology of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. You can see photos or link to other interesting sites from here. A cool site, especially the photos.The Cascades Volcano Observatory – http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/home.htmlYou will find information about volcanoes around the world, as well as detailed information about the Yellowstone caldera.The Total Yellowstone page – http://www.issnet.com/pagemakers/yellowstoneAn interesting site with lots of photos and descriptions of features. This is a good site to visit if you are planning a trip to Yellowstone.MTU’s Volcanoes page – http://www.geo.mtu.edu/volcanoes/You will find some very good information about volcanic eruptions around the world, as well as links to other sites.Geyser Information – http://www.wku.edu/www/geoweb/geyser/yelopage.htmlLots and lots of info about geysers (around the world and in Yellowstone).The U.S. Geological Survey – http://geology.usgs.gov/From this site you can find links to all kinds of geological information on the web, including earthquakes and volcanoes.The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – http://www.fws.gov/Information about endangered species, wetlands, waterfowl, forest fires, and lots of other things.The Ecology Channel – http://ecology.com/Trends, news, and topics about the environment. Stuff for kids. Links to other ecology groups.
How to Search for Something
Addresses on the World Wide Web often change. If the ones shown here don’t work any more, try searching the web for other interesting sites AND please notify us of any changed links at webmaster@mecc.com
One way to search is to try one of the Web Directories. You could begin with Yahoo:http://www.yahoo.com Try looking at some of the science sites listed in Yahoo. You can see the latest earthquake data or check the weather around the country.
Another directory to try is GORP (Great Outdoors Recreation Pages) at http://gorp.com You will find all kinds of information about the great outdoors, including a site about Yellowstone with lots of information about things to do in the park. You can even find out how to get a job there.
Found here are various video clips, audio sounds, and images from the Explore Yellowstone CD. Feel free to download and view these exciting multimedia samples.
If you need assistance for running or viewing these files, please view the Multimedia Helper instructions.
 | Explore Yellowstone Movies Explore Yellowstone Sounds Explore Yellowstone Images Explore Yellowstone Screen Shots |
Explore Yellowstone contains actual sounds of animals, nature, and much more from Yellowstone National Park. Below is just a sample of the many sound files contained on the CD-ROM.
If you need assistance for listening to these sounds, please view the Multimedia Helper instructions.
 | Coyote Howling (136K AIFF) Gray Wolf Pack (238K AIFF) Mountain Lion Snarling (132K AIFF) Yellowstone Meadow Sounds(247K AIFF) |
Over 600 magnificent images are found on the Explore Yellowstone CD. Below is a sample of some of these stunning Yellowstone images.
If you have trouble viewing these images, please see our assistance section for more information on viewing GIF/JPEG image files.
You may see a larger view of these images by clicking the photo icon.
Images from the Explore Yellowstone CD-ROM
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Multimedia Helper Applications
As you browse the Explore Yellowstone Web Site you will encounter sounds, images, movies, or downloadable applications. To run or display these files, a “helper application” may be required. We have collected some of the most popular helper applications below. Most of these helper applications are shareware or freeware; please check the applications documentation. If you need help configuring your helper applications, consult your browser’s user’s guide.
| Macintosh Helper Applications | Windows Helper Applications |
|---|---|
| Stuffit Expander (199K)Extracts Stuffit Archives | PKZIP (198K)Extracts ZIP Archives |
| JPEGView (797K)Viewer for JPEG/GIF files | LView (219K)Viewer for JPEG/GIF files |
| SoundMachine (230K)Sound Player for AU/AIFF formats | Wham (136K)Sound Player for AU/WAV formats |
| Fast Player (37K)QuickTime Video Player | AVIPro (480K)AVI Video Player |
| QuickTime VR Player for Macintosh/WindowsTo view our QuickTime VR scenes, you need to download this player from Apple’s QuickTime VR Home Page. |
| Hyper Stack Player (671K)HyperCard Stack Player (Macintosh only) |
| Shockwave Plug-In for Macintosh/WindowsYou need this to view our “Shocked” pages. Requires NetScape 2.0 |
| RealAudio Player Plug-In for Macintosh/WindowsYou need this to listen to RealAudio Files. |
The Explore Yellowstone school manual has information about using the program, lesson plans, lists of contacts and references, and handouts to complement the Explore Yellowstone program. In the manual, teachers will also find suggestions for small-group research projects, discussion and creative writing topics, and hands-on experiments. Included are maps of Yellowstone and an extensive glossary of scientific terms used in the program.
- The “Yellowstone Research” section contains ideas and contacts to help individuals or small groups do research about Yellowstone National Park. Included are lists of reference books, books for students, World Wide Web sites, and places to write.
- The “Discussing Yellowstone” section contains ideas and a handout for small-group or whole-class discussion topics relative to Yellowstone.
- The “Creative Writing” section contains a handout with ideas to help students write essays, journal entries, or newspaper articles about historical and modern-day Yellowstone from a variety of perspectives.
- The “Hands-on Activities” section contains more than 20 ideas for projects in the class or in the field to get kids involved in science activities relevant to Yellowstone. There are six handouts with detailed instructions for specific student experiments.
The Explore Yellowstone Visitor Center is a place for students and educators to post their artwork and creative writing they have developed in conjunction with the Explore Yellowstone CD-ROM.
In addition to showcasing your talent to millions of people across the world, the Visitor Center can become a focal point of entertainment and reference for individuals about Yellowstone National Park and the environment in general.
Send us your work (there is no charge), and we will do our best to display it. You can send us your work by:
- By e-mail: send them to mecc@mecc.co
Note: We will not be able to return any submitted projects.