William Huynh

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Kids Activities

Backyard Nature Scavenger Hunt

Activity brief Ages 5–12

Rain or shine, the backyard is full of small treasures. This activity takes about an hour and needs nothing but a paper bag, a pencil, and sharp eyes.

The list

Find each of these (look, don’t destroy — leave living things where they live):

  • Something smaller than your fingernail
  • Something older than you
  • Two leaves from different trees that look nothing alike
  • Something an insect made
  • Something perfectly round
  • Something that has a smell
  • Something the wind moved
  • Something the exact colour of your eyes
  • Something soft and something rough
  • One thing you can’t explain

Then

Pick the strangest thing you found and sketch it. Underneath, write two or three sentences: what do you think it is, and how do you think it got there?

There are no wrong answers — the best explanations are the brave ones.