Activity: Create a Poster of Illinois

Using a time frame of your choosing, create a poster that shows what Illinois was (or is) like. Try to show some of the following ecosystem characteristics that were (or are) present:

• Animals
• Plants
• Climate
• Human Settlement
• River Systems
• Geology
  

All of these could be different in parts of the state, so you may want to focus on just one portion or ecosystem found in the state.

A great deal of information is available on Illinois ecosystems from the last Ice Age to the present. Because ecosystems have changed, even a few thousand years would show a big difference from one poster to the next.

To get information on Illinois for the past or present, look in books, encyclopedias, and the Internet. Some agencies that would be helpful to contact are:

Illinois State Museum http://www.museum.state.il.us/

Illinois Division of Natural Resources http://dnr.state.il.us/

What Happened to the Dinosaurs? | Animals in Illinois Sixty-Five Million Years Ago | Activity: Learn About the Tully Monster | Animals in Illinois 10,000 Years Ago | Activity: Learn About Biodiversity | Mammoths and Mastadons | Activity: Learn About "State" Animals and Plants | Activity: Learn About Illinois Ecosystems | Activity: Create a Poster of Illinois