Welcome!
You have made your way to the Arboretum’s 2021 Maple Time activities online! You can use this resources with your family, your friends, and your classroom to learn about the secrets of maple sap and maple syrup. (If you are using this resource in your classroom, you can find information about corresponding science and math standards here.)
Each section answers a different
question about the process of turning sunlight into maple syrup and provides interactive activities to test your knowledge, your taste buds, and your imagination! Use the dropdown menu or links at the bottom of the page to navigate as you complete the activities and learn more about maples.
Once you’ve looked around the site, extend your experience by tapping your own maple tree or visiting the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum!
The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum welcomes, informs and inspires all through outstanding plant displays, protected natural areas, horticultural research and innovative education. We strive to create a welcoming space to learn from and connect with nature.
Maples are one of the star trees at the Arboretum, especially in the early spring when their sap is running and in the fall when their leaves change to beautiful reds and oranges. This book shares some of their spring secrets with you online, and we hope to see you soon in person.
Before we begin, a few important words about the place the Arboretum and its maple trees call home:
The land is now the University of Minnesota’s Landscape Arboretum is the ancestral homeland of the Daḳota people. We recognize the Daḳota were forced to cede these lands in the past, and we honor Daḳota peoples’ history on this land, their sovereignty, and their continued contributions to our region.
In honor of these indigenous people, we include their names for maples, sugar, and other syrup related items here:
Dakota Words
ćaŋ-haŋ’-pi, n. (ćaŋ and haŋpi) sugar; literally, tree-sap.
ćaŋ-haŋ’-pi-mdu , n. powdered sugar.
ćaŋ-haŋ’-pi-mi-ni , n. sugar water, sap.
ćaŋ-haŋ’-pi-śa-śa, n. candy.
ćaŋ-haŋ’-pi-ti-kti-ća, n. molasses.
ćaŋ-ha’-saŋ, n. (ćaŋha and saŋ) the sugar maple or rock maple; so called from its bark being whitish. Also, the white birch.[1]
You can also learn the Ojibwe words for these terms here: https://nativeharvest.com/blogs/news/sugaring-vocabulary-ojibwe-language
With this in mind, let’s learn more about maple syrup… How can we find a maple tree? Why do we get maple sap from maple trees? How can you make maple syrup from maple sap.
Let’s get started!
There are two ways to navigate the site:
- You can use the buttons at the bottom of the page with yellow text to go to the next section or the previous section.
- At the top of the page, you will also find a contents section. Make sure you click on “contents” to open the menu and click on the plus sign to see all of the options.