Natural Orchestra: Engage your child to discover their musical sense by experimenting with sounds made from items found in nature.
Make Your Own Rainbow: You do not need to wait for afternoon Colorado showers to show your child a rainbow. Simply create one at home using just a few items found inside!
Birding with Kids: Birds are less elusive than many other kinds of wildlife and provide valuable lessons in ecology – the interaction between animals and their environment. Kids enjoy watching birds at any age. Consider the activities below to help your children become excited about birds.
Tree, Sweet Tree: Trees are home to many different animals, from insects and spiders to birds and squirrels. Trees also provide food and shelter for many animals. In this activity, your kids will explore trees and the animals that live in or visit them.
Hunting for Ants: We have many species of ants in Colorado. This activity will take your kids outside looking for ants and observing their behavior. Ants are social insects that live in large colonies and have developed a complex system of communicating with one another.
Make a Leaf Bracelet: Use fallen leaves to make a bracelet! This is a very simple craft that kids and adults alike will enjoy.
Make a Self Portrait from Nature: Whether it's a bit of grass for hair, some colorful rocks for eyes or even a flower petal to create lips, your child will have a blast using all that nature has to offer to create her very own natural self-portrait!
Create a Solar Print: Let the hot summer sun do most of the work and create your very own solar print, using the power of sunlight.
Build a Toy Boat: With this activity, your kids can try building their own toy boat and then SEA how WORTHY it is on a local lake or stream. Get your child juiced about crafting with recyclables and help them turn an empty juice carton into a sailboat.
Create Your Own Field Guide: Get your child started on a project that they can continue all year. By making a field guide for the park, the woods, or your own backyard, they will gain a new appreciation for the living things around them.
I Spy a Beautiful Spring Color: Take advantage of a nice spring day, when the flowers are in bloom and the insects are buzzing, to enjoy nature with your kids while they learn colors. This is a colorful (pun intended!) spin on the classic "I Spy" game.
Make a Bird's Nest: Birds are busy in the spring building their nests, using material they find in nature. In this activity, kids are encouraged to "think like a bird" and build their own nest.
Create a Wind Spinner: March weather in Colorado can be a bit unpredictable as winter makes way for spring. Harness those winds of change by creating your very own wind spinner.
Make Your Own Snowy Pine Cone Trees: Using just a few simple supplies, create a snowy pine cone tree to bring the beauty of winter indoors.
Design Your Own Constellation: Have you ever stared into the night sky and played connect-the-dots with the stars? Now you can design your own starry sky and decide which stars go where!
Bird in Bird Bath
Make a Bird Bath: Watching birds in your backyard is a great way to learn more about the natural world in which we live. There are thousands of different types of birds flying around us, wouldn't it be fun if some of them stopped by your house?
Create a Fossil: This "Create a Fossil" craft, as the name implies, lets kids create "prehistoric" fossils of their favorite natural objects or even some yet to be discovered creatures.
Alphabet Hike: See how many letters of the alphabet you can find next time your out on a trail or visiting a park.
Pass and Touch: This activity will test your nature I.Q., and your memory, as you try to identify various objects from nature without seeing them.
Meet-A-Tree: Head outside and become closer to nature with this outdoor activity that can be adapted to work with kids of all ages. Don't forget, trees need hugs too!
Grow a Grass-a-pillar: Tired of getting in trouble for having real bugs into the house? Create your very own, indoor friendly, caterpillar by cutting an egg carton apart and painting it.
Create an Avalanche: Create your own avalanche and learn how this natural phenomenon works.
Make an Ice Sun Catcher: Add a splash of color to your backyard this winter with a homemade ice sun catcher.
Create a Cloud Diary: This activity can be done in any kind of weather and it helps kids build their observation skills.
Making Leaf Prints: As the leaves begin to fall, use them to make colorful, original artwork. Leaf prints are a great craft for children of all ages.
Create a Homemade Birdfeeder: Making a homemade birdfeeder is easy, and there are many different ways you can create one by using objects and food found around your house.
Create a Solar Oven: Take advantage of the summer heat and cook yourself a tasty treat in a homemade solar oven!
Magical Backyard Square: Discover the amazing natural world that exists in your own backyard! With just a few tools, you can explore the rich soil and critters that call it home.
Nature Scavenger Hunt: Whether you are at a State Park campsite, walking on a nature trail or just exploring the backyard, you can find countless living creatures and fascinating objects with different textures, shapes and colors.
Create a Stick Compass: If you are lost and without a magnetic compass, fear not. You can make one with a stick and a few rocks.
Spring is Coming: Make this spring memorable by detailing nature's changes in a colorful way.
