Teachers
Mojave Max has a lot to teach your kids about native desert species and conservation!
We hope the following resources will help you continue spreading the message of Mojave Max in the classroom and beyond!
Assembly Presentations
The Mojave Max Education Program provides educational assemblies in the fall and winter months each year. The assemblies include appearances by a ‘Ranger’ who discusses desert tortoise biology and conservation, an educator who discusses Mojave Desert weather which plays an important part in Mojave Max’s emergence, and the costumed Mojave Max mascot. The assemblies are interactive and students are given an opportunity to answer ‘quiz’ questions to earn prizes!
Photos and videos will be taken during the assemblies and may be posted on Mojave Max’s social media accounts. Schools will be asked to ensure that students have a signed CCSD publicity form on file in the front office. For those students where you’re unable to get a signed publicity form, we’ll ask them to be seated on one side of the room to ensure their photos will not be taken.
Assemblies are for 1st through 3rd graders only. These are presented to an entire grade level at one time. Clark County teachers for grades 1-3 can request a Mojave Max Assembly and have the Mojave Max Education Team visit your school to talk about desert tortoises, the Mojave Desert and the Mojave Max Emergence Contest. Complete the Mojave Max Assembly application for the 2024-2025 school year any time after August 19, 2024. Teachers who submit a request for an assembly at their school will be notified of their application status via email.
Tortoise Talks
School Tortoise Talks are for 4th and 5th graders only. They are presented to a single class at a time (limit 40 students). Each class must sign up separately. Clark County School District teachers may request “Tortoise Talk” presentations throughout the school year. Unlike the Mojave Max assemblies, individual Tortoise Talks are conducted year-round, and do not include an appearance by the costumed Mojave Max mascot. We will visit elementary schools and give an approximately 45-minute lesson about the desert tortoise and its habitat, the Mojave Desert. The lesson also includes information about Mojave Desert weather, desert tortoise biology, and the importance of desert conservation. The presentation is fun, interactive, and curriculum-based for 4th and 5th graders. Request a Tortoise Talk today.
Mojave Max Emergence Contest
Beginning in late fall or early Winter each year, Clark County students and teachers can submit a guess as to when they think the real live Mojave Max tortoise will emerge from his burrow at Springs Preserve. The student who guesses closest to Max’s actual emergence time, without going over, will win a laptop computer, a Springs Preserve year-long family membership, an “America the Beautiful” year-long pass to National Parks and Federal Recreation areas and a backpack filled with outdoor goodies. The winner’s entire class will receive T-shirts and Olympic-style medals, as well as a field trip and pizza party at Springs Preserve. The teacher of the winning student will also receive a laptop computer.
To enter the contest just click on the Emergence Contest Form where you can read more about the contest and enter your guess.
Resources for students and teachers
Mojave Max believes in enjoying his desert home and he wants everyone to learn how to keep it safe, how to Respect it, Protect it, and Enjoy it. To do that, he and his friends have collected many fun resources that will help you get started exploring his world.