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Utah - Our Pretty, Great State

Utah - Our Pretty, Great State Texas has an official dish (chile), an official pepper (jalapeņo & chiltepin), an official fabric/fiber (cotton), an official reptile (Texas horned lizard), an official small mammal (armadillo), an official dance (square dance), and an official instrument (guitar).

What's with Utah? We DO have an official cooking pot! But we're not keeping up with Texas as far as other state symbols.

4th graders, come and visit these sites about Utah and discover why our state is so great! You'll find out about every one of OUR state symbols. After completing this activity, make a list of suggestions for an official UTAH state dish, fiber, reptile, small mammal, dance, and instrument. Maybe you can think of other state symbols that we are lacking. (Do we need an official state flavor of ice cream? An official state jello color?) The next step would be to contact your local legislator to get the ball rolling! Second graders in Millville, Utah suggested that the cherry be our state fruit and were responsible for working with their legislator to introduce the bill that made it official!

Symbols of Utah

Colorado's state flower is the Rocky Mountain Columbine.

  1. What is Utah's state flower?
  2. When did it become our official flower?
  3. How tall does it typically grow?
  4. On what kind of terrain does this flower grow in Utah?
  5. In what area of Utah does the flower grow? Use a map of Utah and locate this area.
  6. Describe what the flower looks like.
  7. How big is the bulb of this flower and what purpose did it serve to early Utah inhabitants?

 

Utah State Bird

The official state bird of Florida is the mockingbird.

  1. What is Utah's state bird?
  2. Go to Birds of America and look at the images of our state bird. Describe the difference in appearance between the male and female birds.

 

Utah Stately Facts

Among the 50 states, Utah ranks 35th for number of people who live in the state. California has the most people. Wyoming has the least.

  1. What is the population of Utah?
  2. When did Utah become a state?
  3. Where does Utah rank in the order in which it became a state? (Were we the 10th state? The 25th state?)
  4. What is our state song?
  5. What is the origin of the word "Utah"?

 

State of Utah

62% of the land in Utah is owned by the federal government. Only Alaska at 67% and Nevada at 82% have a higher percentage than Utah.

  1. Who is the governor of Utah?

 

Timpanogas Cave National Monument

People who explore caves are called spelunkers.

  1. In which national forest is Timpanogas Cave located?
  2. In which canyon is Timpanogas Cave located?
  3. During what months is the cave open?
  4. go back and put the surweb timpanogas slide show here
  5. This webpage is a SURWEB media show about Timpanogas Cave. Spend a few minutes clicking through the Timpanogas site to see fascinating pictures of the cave. The media show actually takes you through the different chambers of the cave.

 

Snow Reports for Utah Resorts

Depending on what time of year you do this activity, this information may not be available.

  1. How many inches of snow are there at Snowbird Ski Resort? You will have to scroll to find the answer. The number of inches of snow are referred to as "base".
  2. How many inches of snow are there at Alta Ski Resort? You will have to scroll to find the answer. The number of inches of snow are referred to as "base".
  3. Which of the listed ski resorts has the most snow (the deepest base)?
  4. Which of the listed ski resort has the most new snow?
  5. Which of the listed ski resorts has the most lifts?

 

Utah's Senators

How many senators are there in the United States? Unlike the number of members of the House of Representatives, the number of senators never changes.

  1. Name one of Utah's United States senators.
  2. If you wanted to write to him in Washington, D.C. what address might you use?

 

Utah Almanac

85% of the population of Utah lives in northern Utah.

  1. There is a town in Utah called Enterprise. What county is it in? How many people live in Enterprise?
  2. There is a town in Utah called Honeyville. What county is it in? How many people live in Honeyville?
  3. There is a town in Utah called Ophir. What county is it in? How many people live in Ophir?
  4. There is a town in Utah called Deweyville. What county is it in? How many people live in Deweyville?
  5. There is a town in Utah called Paragonah. What county is it in? How many people live in Paragonah?
  6. There is a town in Utah called Toquerville. What county is it in? How many people live in Toquerville?

 

Utah State Rock

Speaking of rocks, the highest point in Utah is King's Peak in the Unita Mountains. It is 13,538 feet tall. The lowest point is in Utah is at Beaverdam Creek which is near the Utah/Arizona border.

  1. What is Utah's official state rock?
  2. Briefly describe how this rock is formed.
  3. In how many of Utah's 29 counties is our official rock found?
  4. Which 2 of Utah's counties have the greatest amounts of this rock?

 

Utah State Mineral

Alaska's state mineral is gold.

  1. What is our state mineral?
  2. What are some of this mineral's uses?
  3. Where is most of this mineral mined in Utah?
  4. The place where this mineral is mined is a pretty big hole. How does it compare in size to the world's tallest building?

 

Utah State Animal

New York's state animal is the badger.

  1. What is Utah's official state animal?
  2. About how big is this animal if measured at the shoulder and about how many pounds can it weigh?

 

Utah State Fish

North Carolina's state fish is the channel bass.

  1. What is our official fish?
  2. What does the "cut" refer to?
  3. Why is this fish easier to catch than other varieties of its species?
  4. Utah used to have a different state fish before this one was named in 1997. What was the former fish?
  5. Why was it changed to the fish we have now?

 

Official State Cooking Pot

Yes, it's true! We have an official state cooking pot!

  1. What is it?
  2. This site claims that early explorers and mountain men used these pots. Which 2 explorers are mentioned as probably using this kind of pot?
  3. Can you believe that there is actually an international society about this cooking pot?

 

Utah State Tree

The state tree of Pennsylvania is the hemlock.

  1. What is Utah's official tree?
  2. In which mountain ranges is this tree found?
  3. Describe what this tree looks like.

 

Utah State Grass

Did you know Utah even has a state grass?

  1. What is our official grass?
  2. In the past, what was this grass used for?

 

Utah State Gem

Arkansas's state gem is the diamond.

  1. What is our official gem?
  2. In what counties can it be found?
  3. This gem can be found in several different colors. What are they?

 

Utah State Fossil

The official state fossil of South Dakota is the triceratops.

  1. What is our official state fossil?
  2. When did this dinosaur become our state fossil?
  3. Why do you think that this particular dinosaur was chosen as our official one?
  4. What are two of the meanings of the word for our state fossil?
  5. Describe what this dinosaur was like.

 

Utah State Insect

The state insect of Massachusetts is the ladybug.

  1. When did the honeybee become our state insect?
  2. What group lobbied (influenced) the legislature to make the honeybee our official bug?
  3. Check out this honeybee activity that you can do in your classroom.

 

Utah State Seal and Flag

On flagpoles, do state flags fly above the U.S. flag or below it?

  1. What does the beehive on the state flag stand for?
  2. What does the bald eagle on the state flag stand for?
  3. What does the sego lily on the state flag stand for?
  4. What does the U.S. flag on the state flag stand for?

 

State Motto and Emblem

The Boy Scout motto is "Be prepared."

  1. What is our state motto?
  2. What is our state emblem?

 

Utah State Fruit

The official fruit of Georgia is the peach.

  1. Did you even know that we have an official state fruit? What is it?
  2. When did it become our state fruit?
  3. What group lobbied (influenced) the legislature to make this our official fruit?
  4. What are two kinds of cherries that are grown in Utah? Where do we rank nationally in the growing of these cherries? (Are we 1st? 8th?, etc?)
  5. What are the leading counties in Utah that grow cherries?
  6. Following World War II, what country sent Utah some cherry trees? Where were they planted? Why were they sent?

 

Utah History Encyclopedia

The Utah History Encyclopedia is a great site to visit to learn more about Utah's history. To answer the following questions, check out this site about Utah's first territorial capital.

  1. Salt Lake City is the state of Utah's capital. What town was Utah's first territorial capital?
  2. Who was Utah's 1st territorial governor?
  3. Settlers in large numbers began arriving in Utah in 1847. In what year was the 1st session of the Utah territorial legislature held?
  4. Why was the capital of the territory of Utah later changed to Salt Lake City?
  5. Can you still see the old statehouse in Fillmore?

 

Utah Schools

Utah has 41 public school districts. Jordan District in Salt Lake County has the most students.

  1. First find YOUR school by choosing Search for Schools then type the name of your school and select Search Database.
  2. Scroll down and see if your teacher is listed as a registered educator with UEN. If not, encourage your teacher to go to the my.uen page to register. It only takes a few minutes to get registered.

 

Utah Schools

This school is in Salt Lake District.

  1. What is the best elementary school in the state of Utah?
  2. If you don't agree that this school is the best, write a paragraph about why you think YOUR school is cool.

 

The Utah Grizzlies

Do you know what a hat trick is? (It's a hockey term).

  1. Select 3 of the players on the Utah Grizzly's professional hockey team and record how many goals they have made, how many points they've scored, and how many penalty minutes they've accumulated this season.

 

Utah Jazz

Have the Jazz had other coaches besides Frank Layden and Jerry Sloan?

  1. Which team member of the Utah Jazz has the number 14 on his jersey? When was he born? How many years has he been with the Jazz? How tall is he?
  2. Which team member of the Utah Jazz has the number 32 on his jersey? When was he born? How many years has he been with the Jazz? How tall is he?
  3. Which team member of the Utah Jazz has the number 0 on his jersey? When was he born? How many years has he been with the Jazz? How tall is he?

 

Utah Senators

Who are our 3 Congresspersons?---3 Congresspersons plus 2 senators equals 5 electoral votes.

  1. Who is our other United States senator?

 

Utah's State Song

Connecticut's state song is Yankee Doodle.

  1. What is Utah's official state song?
  2. Who wrote it?
  3. In what year did it officially become the state song?

 

Image is copyrighted by ArtToday. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Author: LINDA MOSBACKER - Email linda.mosbacker@slc.k12.ut.us