{"id":5,"date":"2013-10-16T08:32:15","date_gmt":"2013-10-16T08:32:15","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2017-12-06T15:12:34","modified_gmt":"2017-12-06T21:12:34","slug":"5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/untdocsblog\/2013\/10\/16\/5\/","title":{"rendered":"Government Documents Can Keep You in Stitches"},"content":{"rendered":"

Are you looking for a unique idea for a Halloween costume this year? State and federal government agencies have some surprising resources for creating outfits ranging from the inexpensive to the elaborate.<\/p>\r\n

Texas Endangered Species Animal Masks<\/h3>\r\n

The\u00a0Texas Endangered Species Activity Book<\/a><\/em>, published by the\u00a0Texas Parks and Wildlife Department\u00a0<\/a>(TPWD), contains many fun activities and projects to teach children about several endangered species in Texas.\u00a0There is a wheel that spins to reveal the stages of a toad\u2019s metamorphosis; a whooping crane mobile; instructions for drawing a bobcat and ocelot; bird pictures to color; a cut-out bat that you can hang in a window or on a shelf; and many other activities, accompanied by facts about the animals.<\/p>\r\n

Included among these projects is a role-playing game that includes patterns for a couple of animal face masks. Color them, cut them out, and attach a popsicle stick handle to hold them in front of your face masquerade-ball style, and in minutes you can be a black-footed ferret or a prairie dog.\u00a0ane mobile; instructions for drawing a bobcat and ocelot; bird pictures to color; a cut-out bat that you can hang in a window or on a shelf; and many other activities, accompanied by facts about the animals.<\/p>\r\n

\"Texas\"Prairie\"Houston<\/p>\r\n

The\u00a0Texas Endangered Species Activity Book<\/a><\/em>\u00a0is available for checkout from the\u00a0UNT Libraries Government Documents Department<\/a>\u00a0on the Third Floor of Willis Library. An\u00a0electronic version<\/a>\u00a0in PDF format can be downloaded from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Web site.<\/p>\r\n

Many more endangered species animal masks can be downloaded from the\u00a0TPWD Publications for Kids<\/a>\u00a0page. There\u2019s even a salamander hat!<\/p>\r\n

U.S. Army \u201cBlueprint Specials\u201d<\/h3>\r\n

During World War II, the Special Services Division of the U.S. Army provided soldiers with do-it-yourself entertainment kits called \u201cBlueprint Specials,\u201d which contained a script, lyrics, music, dance routines, and detailed instructions for building sets, props, and costumes out of Army surplus, waste, and salvage materials \u2014 everything soldiers needed to create a musical variety show. These kits provided an early glimpse into the careers of such show-biz luminaries as Frank Loesser, Alex North, and Jos\u00e9 Lim\u00f3n.<\/p>\r\n

The costume designs in these kits can still provide a handy guide to creating inexpensive outfits from T-shirts, crepe paper, and discarded clothing, although sometimes they may assume you have bits and pieces of WWII Army uniforms lying around! Because the casts of these shows were all-male or all-female (one Blueprint Special, P.F.C. Mary Brown, was written especially for the Women\u2019s Army Corps), many of the costume designs provide opportunities for cross-dressing.<\/p>\r\n

\"Hi,\"P.F.C.<\/p>\r\n

The UNT Libraries Government Documents Department has three Blueprint Specials that can be requested from Documents Reserve:<\/p>\r\n