In honor of the 150th anniversary of John Wesley Powell’s first expedition down the Colorado and Green Rivers in 1869, the USGS has come up with a fun concept in “Paper Powell”. Similar to Flat Stanley, the USGS encourages you to take Paper Powell on an adventure, and photograph the places he goes.
To get started, visit usgs.gov/media/files/paper-powell and download Paper Powell, print and color him and then use scissors to cut out the figure. For a sturdier Paper Powell, use glue or tape to attach your Paper Powell to a thin piece of spare cardboard, such as an old cereal box.
After your Paper Powell has been on adventures with you, send him on adventures with a friend or relative. Or, send your Paper Powell to the USGS by April 30, 2019: U.S. Geological Survey, Youth & Education in Science (YES) Program Mail Stop 911, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA 20192. Your John Wesley Powell may get a chance to travel down the Green & Colorado Rivers with USGS partners, the Sesquicentennial Colorado River Exploring Expedition (SCREE), 150 years after his first expedition! To learn more, go to: usgs.gov.
The USGS acknowledges the John Wesley Powell River History Museum in Page, AZ as the source for the Paper Powell concept. For adventures with Powell beyond the sesquicentennial, visit the John Wesley Powell River History Museum’s Paper Powell Program at johnwesleypowell.com.
Email us your pictures and description of your adventures with John Wesley Powell and we may put them in a future edition of the Winter Park Times: johnwesleypowell@winterparktimes.com.
