Games to Play Outdoors on Earth Day

Relay Races

• Let kids work off their energy with relay races, using a large, open space. Have them race to pick up erasers or other small objects. Let each team name itself after an animal, like “the Antelopes” or “the Deer.” Talk about where each animal lives and other key facts about it, and which animals are the fastest. Or, have them pretend to be birds and race back and forth to gather nesting materials, like sticks, leaves and yarn, taking only one piece at a time.

Scavenger Hunt

• Create a scavenger hunt that challenges their knowledge about nature. Clues could say, “Some say I weep, but I never cry. Who am I?” for a weeping willow, or “I’m a nursery for little plants, and a home for insects like ants. What am I?” for a rotting log. Place clues around a large open space where you can easily supervise al l children who are playing.

Buried Treasure

• If you have a big sandbox, hide small dinosaur toys in it and let kids dig for them, trying to gather the most “fossils.” Talk about what fossils are and how they can teach us about the earth’s history.

Snake

• Mark off a small area in which kids will play this game as described on PBS Kids. One player plays the snake, crawling and squirming around as he tries to tag the other players. The other players must stay in the designated space and whomever he catches first becomes the next snake.

Where Am I?

• Pair children up, and blindfold one partner in each pair. The other partner leads the blindfolded one around, meandering around until the seeing partner decides to stop. Then, she asks her partner where he thinks they are, and he must guess, touching the trees and other plants around them for clues. Just make sure no poison ivy or oak is around before playing.

You Can't See Me!

• In this game, described on Ultimate Camp Resource, players hide along a path and camoflauge themselves like animals. As the website suggests, tell them to go no more than 15 feet from the sides of the path, and watch all children as they play.

Who Was Here?

• Have kids play detective by inspecting a small area of an outdoor space and talking about what kind of animals or plants might have been there recently. Look for clues like footprints, leaves or fruits with holes in them, and animal droppings. Then stand silently to see if you can hear any animals around you, and guess what they are.