State Symbols Photo by Ken Slade Conversatio n

State Symbols Photo by Ken Slade.

Conversatio n What is a symbol? What symbols can you think of? Why do you think Arkansas has state symbols?

symbol A thing that represents something else

Let’s review our state symbols. What is our state tree?

The pine tree is our state tree. Do you have a pine tree in your neighborho od?

What is our state insect?

There is a buzz that the honey bee is our state insect! Why are honey bees good?

What is our state beverage?

Yummy, milk is our state beverage! and in someone’s tummy!

What is our state flower?

The apple blossom is our state flower. They bloom in the spring

What is our state bird?

The mockingbird is our state bird. Listen to the mockingbird sing! https: //www. youtube. com /watch? v=NNNX 3 f 3_svo

What is our state vegetable?

The pink tomato is our state fruit AND vegetable.

What is our state dance?

The square dance is our state dance. Have you watched anyone square dance? It is good exercise! https: //www. you tube. com/watch ? v=0 r. IK 3 fo 41 P 4

What is our state instrument?

The fiddle is our state instrument. It can also be called a violin.

What is our state gem?

The diamond is our state gem.

What is our state mineral?

Quartz is our state mineral. Have you seen quartz before? .

What is our state rock?

Bauxite is our state rock.

What is our state mammal?

A white-tailed deer is our state mamm

Now ! Do you know why these are our symbols? Any guesses?

Arkansas designated apple blossoms as the state flower in 1901 as a tribute to how important apples have been to our state. Farmers first started growing apples, mostly in northwest Arkansas, in 1822. In 1920, the peak of apple growing in Arkansas, Washington and Benton counties produced five million bushels of apples. Apple growing is declining in Arkansas, but we still are known for a type of apple grown mostly in Arkansas: the Arkansas black apple.

In 1929, Arkansas voted to make the mockingbird the state bird because of how important the birds were to farmers. Mockingbirds can be found year-round in Arkansas. They may know up to thirty-eight songs and can sing for many hours at a time. Males even sing at night, maybe when you are trying to sleep. They are very bold about defending their nest, and have been known to attack cats and humans who get too close!

The pine tree became the state tree in 1939. Arkansas timber is an important part of Arkansas’s economy. There are four species of pine native to Arkansas, and the loblolly pine is the more common tree in the whole state. Our trees go on to make paper, build houses and serve as homes for many animals.

Diamonds were declared the state gem in 1967. We often think about diamonds in jewelry, but they are used to make many important things, such as tools for surgery, glasscutting, drilling and metal-cutting. That is because diamonds are the hardest naturally-occurring material on earth! Arkansas is one of the few places in North America where diamonds are found, and the only place where anyone can look for them.

Bauxite became the state rock in 1967. Pulaski and Saline county are home to bauxite, which can be used to make aluminum. Aluminum is used for transportation, packaging, construction, cooking tools and even toothpaste! During World War I and World War II, Arkansas had the largest amounts of bauxite mined in the nation. After the wars, bauxite wasn’t as needed, and it mostly stopped being mined in Arkansas by 1982.

1967 was also the year in which quartz became the state mineral. Quartz is found in the Ouachita Mountains. Quartz makes up nearly 25% of the earth’s surface, but there are only a few places where the rock is good enough to be mined. Arkansas is one of them!

Arkansas declared the honeybee as the state insect in 1973. While we may think of bees as being scary, they are important to helping flowers and food grow. In fact, 15 other states call the honeybee their state insect! Europeans brought bees to the United States in the 1600 s, and early Arkansans enjoyed honey with their food. A beehive was used on the territorial and state seal to symbolize industry. You may have heard the saying, “busy as a bee, ” meaning bees are always willing to work to better their world, just like Arkansans.

The fiddle became our state instrument in 1985, and the square dance became our state dance in 1991. Fiddle playing and square dancing were important to the culture of early Arkansas. Square dancing gets its name from four couples standing in a square facing each other. A fiddle often plays music for the square dance. While square dancing is not as popular now as it once was, it is still practiced around the state. You may recognize some of the calls, like

Also in 1985, milk became the state beverage because of how healthy it is and how important dairy farming is to Arkansas. Milk farms have always been important in Arkansas. In 1940 there were 439, 000 milk cows in the state! Milk has protein and important

In 1987, Arkansas voted the south Arkansas vine-ripe pink tomato to be the state fruit and vegetable. Arkansas settlers were quick to plant tomatoes when they moved here. Tomatoes are mostly grown in southeast Arkansas, and the majority of farmers in Bradley County chose to grow pink tomatoes. In the 1960 s, Arkansas was even one of the top growers of tomatoes in the United States. Today it is the state’s top vegetable crop.

Arkansas declared the white-tailed deer its state mammal in 1993. Deer were in Arkansas before people; American Indians used all parts of the deer to survive. In 1916, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) began the first deer season, but in the 1930 s the deer were almost all gone. The AGFC had to buy deer from other states to increase the numbers. It worked! Today there around a million deer in Arkansas, and having it as our state symbol celebrates this victory and how important deer are.

Not all of these symbols are unique to Arkansas. For example, Michigan’s state flower is the apple blossom, and four other states claim the mockingbird as their state bird. But they do show a little about what is special about our state. What other symbols would you add?

Arkansas Secretary of State: free coloring book http: //www. soskids. ar. gov/index. html

http: //www. crayola. com/free-coloring-pages/print/arkansas-coloring-page/

https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Jd. DOODIS_M&feature=youtu. be 2 nd Graders at Trice Elementary in Texarkana,

Our state bird is the mockingbird. He repeats all day, what he has heard Our state tree is the pine tree. It’s green all year, for us to see

Our state insect is the honey bee. He’ll be real nice, ‘til you take his treat Next up is milk, our state drink. It’s good for you and helps you think.

Apple blossoms are pink and white, Our state flower, quite a pretty sight Our state fruit and veggie is the pink tomato, It does double duty,

Grab your partner and take a chance at square dancing, our state folk dance. A fiddle is our state instrument. Fine for square dancing with the ladies and gents.

The diamond is our gem, Quartz is our mineral, The way they flash and shine, they look quite beautiful!

Symbol Song To the tune of “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen Our state tree is the pine Our gem, the diamond, shines Our rock, bauxite, can be mined We are the natural state White-tailed deer is our mammal The instrument is the fiddle Pink tomato, vegetable And fruit. It tastes so great. Bees give us honey Mockingbirds Can sing for hours Apple blossom Is our flower Can’t you see I know my Can you come up with another verse? symbols? Hey! Arkansas is The 25 th state Quartz is our mineral And we are awesome! We like to square dance and drink milk Regnat populus, And we are awesome! Hey! First Arkansans Were Caddos, Quapaws, And also Osage. Arkansas is awesome! We have six geographic regions Delta, rivers, mountains And we are awesome!

Craft and game Arkansas wind chimes Use a salt-dough recipe to create the shapes of the Arkansas symbols. • Use dough to create 3 Arkansas symbols. Be sure to include a hole at the top of the shape. • After baking the shape, paint it. • Distribute tin pans of Styrofoam plates that have 3 sets of doubleholes punched out and 3 strings of varying lengths. • String the symbols to the pan/plate. Cookie cutters in the shape of our state symbols and a memory card game are both available for classrooms at the Department of Arkansas Heritage’s website.

Photo by Curtis Perry (3) Conversatio n Where have you seen the Arkansas state flag?

In 1910, the U. S. navy began to build a new boat: the USS Arkansas. It took 3 years to build. In 1912, when the boat was close to being finished, a group of ladies in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, decided the boat should have three flags: the United States flag, the U. S. navy flag, and the Arkansas state flag. There was just one problem. The ladies soon discovered that Arkansas didn’t have a state flag! Fun fact: The USS Arkansas participated in World War I and World War II.

The ladies worked with the secretary of state to do a statewide flag contest. 65 people sent in designs for the state flag. Some were crayon drawings. Some were miniature silk flags. Many of them had apple blossoms on it, some had outlines of the state on it, and some had many stars on them. A group of people judged the flags and decided that Miss Willie Hocker of Wabbaseka, Arkansas, had the best design.

Her design is a little different than the flag we have now, which you can see in the top picture. What do you notice is different?

Miss Hocker said the red, white, and blue symbolized we were a part of the United States of America. The white diamond symbolized we were the first diamondproducing state. The 25 stars around the diamond symbolized we were the 25 th state created. The three stars in the middle symbolized we had belong to three different countries: France, Spain, and the United States. The committee asked her to include the word ARKANSAS in the middle. She did, and Arkansas had a state flag to put on the new ship in 1913.

Ten years later, the state wanted to show that we were also a part of the confederacy during the Civil War, so they added one more blue star on top to symbolize this. The design of our state flag has flown all around the state since 1923.

Flag etiquette There are many rules about how to display and take care of the Arkansas State Flag. Here a few: • When the Arkansas flag and the U. S. flag are flown together, the Arkansas flag should be close to the same size as the U. S. flag, but never larger. • The flag should not touch the ground. • The U. S. flag should be flown highest, with the Arkansas flag below it. If there is more than one flag pole, the Arkansas flag should be to the right of the U. S. flag as Salute to the State Flag: "I Salute the Arkansas Flag With Its Diamond and Stars. We Pledge Our Loyalty to Thee. " Virginia Belcher Brock Author

Write it Have you ever seen an Arkansas state flag? out Where have you seen it? How did it make you feel? Why do you think it is important to have a state flag?

State nicknames Have you ever heard someone call New York City “The Big Apple” or Chicago “The Windy City? ” Sometimes places get nicknames. Arkansas had several nicknames. What would you nickname our state? ¨“The Bear State, ” because in the earliest days, Arkansas was known for its bear population. ¨“The Toothpick State, ” because early settlers would carry “Arkansas toothpicks, ” or bowie knives, to eat and hunt. ¨“Rackensack, ” a funny name Arkansans used to show wild the state was in the 1800 s. ¨“The Wonder State” was officially adopted in 1923, to show Arkansas’s beauty and resources. ¨“Land of Opportunity, ” replaced “Wonder State” in 1943.

More resources Ware, David. It's Official!: The Real Stories behind Arkansas's State Symbols. First ed. Little Rock: Butler Center, 2015. Print. ·Butler Center lesson plan: http: //arstudies. contentdm. oclc. org/cdm/singleitem/collection/lesso nplans/id/59/rec/1 ·N is for Natural State, written by Michael Shoulders, illustrated by Rick Anderson ·Arkansas symbols computer game: http: //www. learninggamesforkids. com/us-stategames/arkansas-state-symbols. html ·Website about all state symbols: http: //www. statesymbolsusa. org/states/united-states/arkansas ·Symbol activity: http: //diaryofateachaholic. blogspot. com/2013/03/texas-symbolsand-freebie-yee-haw. html? m=1 ·Arkansas Crayola coloring sheet: http: //www. crayola. com/freecoloring-pages/print/arkansas-coloring-page/ ·

Sources • Slade, Ken. Northern Mockingbird. 2014. Flickr. Web. 05 Dec. 2015. • Ware, David. It's Official!: The Real Stories behind Arkansas's State Symbols. First ed. Little Rock: Butler Center, 2015. Print. • Perry, Curtis. Flag. 2002. Flickr. Web. 10 Dec. 2015. • The Story of the Arkansas Flag. Little Rock, AR: Office of the Secretary of State, n. d. of State. Web. 21 Jan. 2016. <http: //www. sos. arkansas. gov/educational/ students/documents/the_story_of_the_arka nsas_flag. pdf>. • Desportes, Hunter. . 2015. . Web. 21 Jan.