Rhody Critter Kits

The RIDEM Division of Fish and Wildlife offers free wildlife learning resource kits for formal and informal K-5 educators through our Rhody Critter Kits Program. Each kit contains lesson plans, activities, videos, and hands-on learning materials curated by our Wildlife Outreach staff, with special emphasis on Rhode Island’s wildlife species, conservation work, and stewardship practices.

Not a classroom teacher? Rhody Critter Kits are great for homeschool co-ops, librarians, informal educators, Scout troops, or any group that works with youth!

These kits have been designed to connect students to the wildlife resources right in their own backyards and communities. Materials were developed and selected to correlate to the following Next Generation Science Standards:

All online materials are available to use anytime! Take a peek inside each kit by clicking on the packets below!

Keep scrolling to learn how to reserve a Rhody Critter Kit.

Home Sweet Habitat: Forests

Bat Chat

Feathered Friends

Scales and Slime

Keeping the Balance

Coming soon!

Home Sweet Habitat: Freshwater Wetlands

Pollinator Pals

Educator Training:

Wildlife Outreach staff offer FREE training workshops for educators. These workshops are intended to support educators by providing in-depth background information, hands-on learning experiences, the opportunity to ask questions, and to build community. If you would like to schedule a training opportunity for your school, please contact the Wildlife Outreach Coordinator at mary.gannon@dem.ri.gov.

Critter Kit Lending Policy:

Critter Kits are available to borrow for 2 weeks at a time. To reserve a kit, click on your preferred pickup location below to view available dates and fill out the reservation form to request a kit. Once your reservation has been confirmed, your selected kit can be picked up any time during your reservation period. We have partnered with the Washington Park Library (Providence) and the Louttit Library (West Greenwich) as pick-up locations. Are you a librarian? We've created a set of kits just for you! Public libraries can borrow kits directly through the OLIS Equipment Catalog.

• Educators must return their kits to the same location from which they were borrowed during library hours on the second Thursday of the their reservation period. The kit checklist and  feedback form should be completed prior to return.
• Educators can borrow multiple kits, but can only borrow each kit once per school year to ensure equitable access to the materials. Written materials can be accessed anytime online to extend the amount of time spent learning with the kits.

*PLEASE READ*: We are able to offer these kits for free thanks to funding provided by the Wildlife and Sportfish Restoration and State Wildlife Grant Programs. In order to continue providing these resources, we ask that all educators show the 3-minute “What’s Our Mission?” video to their students and/or include information regarding current conservation work underway in the state. Providing this context will allow us to maintain the kits for future use and expand the materials available. Also, your completion of the feedback form when returning a kit is critical for Federal grant reporting, allowing us to continue to offer these kits for free and to improve them in the future. Thank you!

RESERVE A KIT!

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. Our staff are happy to help provide any support you need! Email mary.gannon@dem.ri.gov

The Rhody Critter Kits Program is made possible through support from the Wildlife & Sport Fish Restoration Program and State Wildlife Grants.