You don’t need a mountain, a forest, or a state park to get outside and explore the natural world—once you start looking, you will see nature on your city block, in your neighborhood, or in your backyard! Some of our Teacher Naturalists have been hard at work coming up with activities for our community to try at home. These include scavenger hunts, drawing activities, and even a video about searching for treasures with a pirate! Check out these five activities for some outdoor inspiration.
1) Make a treasure map
Watch this example of how to make a map of nature's treasures with Nautilus and Feather. Then go out and make your own treasure map!
Based on an activity from Opening the World Through Nature Journaling (2nd ed.) by John Muir Laws, Emily Breunig, Emilie Lygren, and Celeste Lopez (https://johnmuirlaws.com/journaling-curriculum/).
2) Go on a Nature Scavenger Hunt
Take a walk down your street or search around your yard to see if you can find something that fits into each category of this scavenger hunt:
“Something beautiful that is catching the energy from the sun”
“Something that is decomposing”
“Evidence of an animal or an insect”
3) Find the rainbow
Go on a walk or hike and see how many colors you can find in nature. You could try to find all the colors of the rainbow.
It is also fun to give each person a paint chip card (or piece of colored paper or crayon or marker) and see how many objects they can find that match that color.
After a little while of walking and finding matches, have everyone switch cards. You can make this more challenging by seeing who can find the closest exact match to their color.
4) Draw a sound map
You can map the sounds from your backyard, your front steps, or even inside your own home!
5) Create a nature journal
A nature journal can include notes, drawings, and observations about the world around you. All you need is a piece of paper and something to write with. Below are two of our Teacher Naturalists’ favorite nature journaling activities. For more, download a free nature journaling curriculum from https://johnmuirlaws.com/journaling-curriculum/.
“zoom in, zoom out”
i notice, i wonder, it reminds me
