Exhibits - Pinnacle Mountain State Park
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| Arkansas Trail in the Arkansas Arboretum |
| Dates/Times: |
Open daily, Grounds close one hour after sunset. |
| Fees: |
Free |
| Self-Guided: |
Yes |
| Special Conditions: |
Primary paved trail is acessible. Regional loops are natural woodland paths. In order to protect the plants and learning opportunies of others, leaf collecting is not allowed. |
This paved, accessible trail with outdoor exhibits leads students on a tour of Arkansas's six natural divisions and its characteristic native trees. Outdoor exhibits, audio messages, identification of trees and plants provide excellent learning opportunities. Additional woodland loop trails provide expanded exploration of each natural divison.
Themes:
-- Arkansas's Natural Divisions.
-- Tree Identification.
-- Forest Ecology.
-- Earth Science.
|
| Education & Recreation |
| Dates/Times: |
Open daily except, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day & New Years Day |
| Fees: |
Free |
| Self-Guided: |
Yes |
| Special Conditions: |
Accessible |
This exhibit in the Visitor Center reviews the educational and recreational opportunities in the park.
-- Park as a Classroom
-- Environmental Education
-- Special Events
-- Recreation
|
| Environmental Education Pond |
| Dates/Times: |
Usually Spring.
Grounds close one hour after sunset. |
| Fees: |
Free |
| Self-Guided: |
Yes |
| Special Conditions: |
Limited accessibility. Pond studies may involve wading for some. Others may get wet & muddy while Active programs include student involvement in netting and sampling. A change of shoes is best afterward. Park has a number of kid size boots, waders & most other materials. |
The pond demonstrates a variety of wildlife environments and is available for aquatic studies, fishing clinics, & wildlife observation. -- aquatic wildlife.
-- aquatic food web.
-- seldom seen pond organisms
|
| Forest Heritage ….A Look Back |
| Dates/Times: |
Open daily except, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day & New Years Day |
| Fees: |
Free |
| Self-Guided: |
Yes |
| Special Conditions: |
Accessible |
This exhibit in the visitor center gives a historical review of uses of Arkansas's forest resources from prehistoric times through the early 1900's. It incorporates images, text and selectable audio messages.
-- Arkansas history.
-- Native Americans
-- Uses of the forests.
-- Early Euro-Americans
-- Virgin forests.
-- Historic lumber industry.
|
| Interactive Terrain Model |
| Dates/Times: |
Open daily except, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day & New Years Day |
| Fees: |
Free |
| Self-Guided: |
Yes |
| Special Conditions: |
Accessible |
Discover the many outdoor classrooms in Pinnacle Mountain State Park with this interative 3-dimensional map. This new interactive exhibit in the visitor center uses fiber optic lighting, digital audio messages and a birds-eye view of the landscape to reveal landforms, geology, trails, streams and the wide range of habitats in or near your park. -- landforms.
-- map skills.
-- habitats.
-- geology.
-- land use.
|
| Kingfisher Trail |
| Dates/Times: |
Open daily, grounds close one hour after sunset. |
| Fees: |
Free |
| Self-Guided: |
Yes |
| Special Conditions: |
Accessible |
Along this paved, accessible trail your class will explore a lowland forest and stream ecology. Fifteen numbered stations correspond with a self-guided booklet available at the trail head, or teacher's can reqauest guided tours bycointacting the visitor center well in advance. Scheduled guided tours programs offer a wealth of discoveries for all ages.
-- Native animals & plants.
-- Animal Homes.
-- Lowland Trees.
-- Streams and wildlife.
-- Ecology.
-- Earth Science.
|
| Living Beehive |
| Dates/Times: |
Open daily except, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day & New Years Day |
| Fees: |
Free |
| Self-Guided: |
Yes |
| Special Conditions: |
Accessible |
In the Pinnacle visitor center you can see the inner workings of a living beehive up-close through layers of glass. You can observe nature's fascinating pollinators make honey, bees wax and slurp up sugar water. Watch drones, workers and the Queen as they busily go about minding their "beesness".
-- insects.
-- plant reproduction.
-- insect behavior
|
| Pinnacle Mountain State Park, Much More Than a Mountain |
| Dates/Times: |
Open daily except, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day & New Years Day |
| Self-Guided: |
Yes |
| Special Conditions: |
Accessible |
Compare a 1990 and 1937 aerial photograph of the park and immediate area. Discover landforms, habitats, and major changes to the landscape.
-- Historical studies
-- Map skills
-- Earth science
-- Land Use Patterns
|
| The Forest is Alive |
| Dates/Times: |
Open daily except, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day & New Years Day |
| Fees: |
Free |
| Self-Guided: |
Yes |
| Special Conditions: |
Accessible |
This visitor center exhibit defines a forest as a interacting community of diverse organisms and allows students to search a "living log" for at least 29 mammals, insects, reptiles or fungi making their home on a log in a forest. Selectable audio messages allow one to explore more questions on Arkansas's forests.
-- forest plants & animals
-- forest decomposers
-- Forest ecology
|
| Touch Table |
| Dates/Times: |
Open daily except, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day & New Years Day |
| Fees: |
Free |
| Self-Guided: |
Yes |
| Special Conditions: |
Accessible |
In the Pinnacle visitor center you'll find a "Please Touch" collection of objects found in the natural world. Each discovery item is numbered for use with an identification chart.
-- plants
-- animals
-- rocks and minerals
-- fossils
|
| Visitor Center Overlook |
| Dates/Times: |
Open daily, Grounds close one hour after sunset. |
| Fees: |
Free |
| Self-Guided: |
Yes |
| Special Conditions: |
This site is not barrier-free. Access is by a short paved trail and a flight of steps leading to a large deck atop a small peak. Benches and a telescope are on the deck. |
This deck, on a rock outcrop above the Pinnacle visitor center, provides a beautiful panaoramic view of the Arkansas River, Pinnacle Mountain and the surrounding landforms.
-- landforms
-- earth science
-- geology
|
| Watchable Wildlife Window |
| Dates/Times: |
Open daily except, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day & New Years Day |
| Fees: |
Free |
| Self-Guided: |
Yes |
| Special Conditions: |
Accessible |
This living exhibit in the Pinnacle visitor center provides an opportunity to see wildlife frequenting the provided food, water & shelter. Hand-on materials include binoculars, identification guides and a list of recent wildlife sightings.
-- Wildlife needs.
-- Watch native wildlife.
-- Backyard wildlife.
-- Birdwatching
|
| What Good are Wetlands ? |
| Dates/Times: |
Open daily except, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day & New Years Day |
| Fees: |
Free |
| Self-Guided: |
Yes |
| Special Conditions: |
Accessible |
In the Pinnacle visitor center, explore the importance of wetlands to people and wildlife. The alligator mount even growls when you reach too close!
-- Wetland plants and animals.
-- Ecology of wetlands.
-- Benefits of wetlands.
|
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- Contact Information
- 11901 Pinnacle Valley Road
Little Rock, AR 72223
- Email: pinnaclemountain@arkansas.com)
- 501-868-5806
- ArkansasStateParks.com
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