Flat Stanley Project Description

During the 2022-23 school year students created Flat Stanley people to mail around the world. Our host families took our Flat Stanleys on adventures around their cities, states, and countries. Then they sent back descriptions and photos of Flat Stanley’s adventures. Some hosts even sent back souvenirs or recipes for us to try. We learned so much about people, places, and traditions around the world.

Here are some of the places our Flat Stanleys visited in the United States:

• Alaska

• Arizona

• California

• Colorado

• Georgia

• Idaho

• Illinois

• Hawaii

• Montana

• Nevada

• New York

• North Carolina 

• Oregon (Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall)

• South Dakota

• Texas

• Utah

• Washington

• Washington DC

• West Virginia

• Wyoming

Here are some of the countries our Flat Stanleys visited:

• Austria

• Belgium

• Finland

• Germany

• Kenya

• Mexico

• Norway

• United States of America

Flat Johnny in Montana

Hello Otters! Ms. Brooke and Ms. Maddie here! Thank you so much for letting us show Flat Johnny where we have been living the past few months! We spent the majority of the time with him on our college campus in Helena, Montana, but don’t you worry, we took him on a fair share of adventures and can’t wait to share them with you!

When we got back from winter break, we immediately took Flat Johnny to see the oldest building on campus, St.Charles Hall! It was built in 1909 and is the center of all campus! Dorms, offices, and classrooms are all in this building! It is built on a hill and can be seen all throughout Helena!

Helena is the capital of Montana, so one day, we decided to take Flat Johnny to see the capitol building! As you can see, there are many flags flying. One is the United States flag, another is the Montana state flag, and some others are tribal flags! There are currently seven different federally recognized Indigenous (Native American) tribes in Montana. These include the Blackfeet Nation, the Crow Tribe, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe, the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes, and the Fort Belknap Indian Community. It was very cool to see them all represented here!

We also tried taking Flat Johnny to see the Montana’s Historical Society Museum, but it was closed for renovations. However, we still got to see some cool art and pieces of history outside! Herd Bull was created by a Sioux artist who wanted to represent the importance of Indigenous ways of life! We also got to see a replica of the Liberty Bell (a symbol of American independence), there were only 53 of these made in France in 1950!

One night, we got over 8 inches of fresh snow, and it was  -6॰F! We decided to take Flat Johnny sledding! It was very fun and he went down the steep hill very fast!

We took Flat Johnny on a hike up Mt. Helena! It was super cold and we definitely should have brought him some ice cleats (special shoes to walk on the ice and snow), but we made it up to the lookout! As you can see, Helena is surrounded by the beautiful Rocky Mountains. It makes sense why the town’s nickname is “The Queen of the Rockies”.  We loved getting to show him all of Helena from the top of a mountain!

You said that you were wondering what the state animal of Montana is? Well, turns out it’s the grizzly bear! Because it is winter, they are all hibernating right now, so even on our hikes we were unable to see one. However, we were able to find a couple of grizzlies around town!

Hockey is a big sport here in Helena, so we took Flat Johnny to see a game! The Helena Bighorns are a Junior A hockey team in Helena! They won the game and are the division’s champions!

Our final adventure with Flat Johnny was taking him to Glacier National Park! This park is beautiful and highly visited during the summer, however, we got the opportunity to visit in the winter! We took Flat Johnny snowshoeing with our wonderful Park Ranger Guides Carl and Lindsey!

Anyway, thanks Otters for letting us take Flat Johnny on our adventures with us! We loved being able to show him around our town and school! 

Love, 

Ms.Brooke and Ms.Maddie

Flat Jan in Kenya Part 2

Flat Jen has been having a blast in the Masai Mara.

When flat Jen was packing for the trip she made sure not to store any of her snacks or toiletries in plastic bags. She heard that plastic bags were illegal in Kenya! And she did not want to spend her vacation in jail, even though she knew she could probably slip through the bars, she thought it best to follow the local laws. Well after her visit to “The Mara” as the locals call it, she understood the law is helping to preserve the wildlife and she did not spot a single piece of garbage or litter on the ground the whole entire 10 days.

Flat Jen learned that the Masai people are very good at taking care of  the earth and the animals. She got to meet some Masai people. She loved learning about the singing traditions and the contests they have to see who can jump the highest. How high can you jump? 

Jen also learned that the Masai people are considered rich when they have a lot of cows. It does not matter how much money they have - only how many cows. She learned that the Masai love the color red, do beautiful beadwork & are not afraid of any wildlife.  They live in harmony with all wildlife as long as they don't kill their cows.  They love big families with lots of children. Men often marry more than one woman. Sometimes the women do not like that idea and they run away. Jen thought that was pretty brave of them. She was happy to visit the center where the women were living and working and learn about beadwork there. Jen met many Masai people throughout her week traveling. She found them to be very warm & friendly. Their songs sounded so different from the singing we were used to, but she sure loved it! 

She also learned how Kenya is doing amazing at bringing back the rhino population from near extinction. They have teams protecting Rhino and are slowly bringing up the population.  Poachers have been killing Rhinos to cut off their horns to sell to people who believe the Rhino horn has medicinal qualities.  Flat Jen thinks those people should just bite their nails instead of killing Rhinos for their horns, especially since their horns are made of keratin just like our nails. Jen got to see many rhinos- both white and black.  Despite their names they are all the same color gray.  The white rhino is social and  hangs out in groups. The black rhino likes to be alone and eats from the bushes. 

Rhinos

She met several Lion prides! The Sausage pride (they like to hang out under the tree that looks like it is hanging sausages), the Egyptian pride (mostly female lions and their cubs), the Taliban pride (5 males) & the River pride.  Each  pride has its own territory. Flat Jen learned when a Lion comes into a new territory- it rolls around in elephant poop to mask its scent from the other lions. Then it can have the advantage and see others before it is seen. Jen thought that sounded like a very smart but stinky idea! So if you ever get lost in the wild Otters, you know what to do to mask your scent!  

She also noticed flies all over some lions' faces. She seriously wished she was brave enough to go over and shoo them away but she knew that was not a safe idea.  Jen learned the flies were eating by feeding on the blood left on the lion's face from the lion’s lunch.

Jen and the lioness

Jen and the lion lunch- not for vegetarians

Lion Cub Cuteness Overload

At the camp, flat Jen learned that monkeys are indeed very naughty! if you ask a local about the monkeys, they will all tell you stories about naughty monkeys.  We saw for ourselves as the monkeys kept on turning on our neighbors outdoor shower in the night! We had Jen stand guard at our shower so those monkeys wouldn't mess with us. 

Jen on Monkey Watch

Flat jen learned that the leopards are very shy & therefore hard to find. All except for one that is. Her name is Nadala which means “the playful one” in Swahili. Lots of people in the park get to see Nadala up in the trees - eating her catch of the day. Yes, she always brings her food up the tree so the lions or hyenas don’t try to get it!

nadala

Speaking of hyenas…they were always ready to clean up the mess others left. Jen saw them creeping around where the lions were eating just waiting for them to finish eating so they could score some leftovers. Do you know anyone like that who will always eat your leftovers? Jen learned the hyenas are very important animals for the environment. Thanks to the hyenas there is no rotting meat around the bush which can be really stinky! But the hyenas get a bad reputation because well - sometimes if they don’t find some dead meat they might start eating other animals alive. Oooh creepy! Jen thought that was uncalled for and quite cruel but she liked watching them anyway. Plus - babies are just cute and she got to see some hyenas cubs.

Jen also got to see loads more elephant herds, giraffes, baboons, zebras and loads of antelope. She also saw the Buffalo. Her favorite was the "George Washington". Can you see the resemblance? 

Water Buck

george washington

She also got to ride a hot air balloon. She was a little nervous she would get burned by the fire but thankfully made it off safely. Seeing the hippos from the sky was a highlight. The hippos she heard are very dangerous! The lions didn’t even bother trying to catch one for dinner because the fight would be too dangerous. 

jen and the hot air balloon ride

Flat Jen had so many adventures in Kenya - she hopes to save enough money to get to go back one day! Asante San otters for listening to all of flat Jen’s adventures and looking at her vacation pictures. We hope one day you will also get to visit Kenya. and feel the magic.