About the Nature Scavenger Hunt for Kids
Britni Vigil made this nature scavenger hunt to stop her son complaining about tired legs on family walks, and it does the job: children forget they are walking because they are looking. The list has 16 things you can reasonably find on a trail, in a park or around a campsite: caterpillar, ant, spiderweb, leaf, flowers, bush, sign, logs, bird, wildlife, boulder, fir tree, butterfly, water, climbing tree and acorn. If logs are unlikely where you live, swap in sticks.
It is a simple spot-and-tick sheet rather than a clue trail, which makes it suitable from about preschool age with an adult reading, and independent from early readers. The PDF is free; the site sends it after you enter a first name and email address in the form at the bottom of the post.
How to play in one minute
- Get the PDF through the form, print the full sheet for a group or the half-sheet version for one card per child.
- Hand out pens, or laminate the cards and use dry-erase markers to reuse them.
- Walk, hike or wander the campsite and tick each item when someone spots it.
- Playing as a race? Count down, say go, and the first child to tick everything wins.
- Keep going until the list is complete or the walk ends; a small prize at the end is optional.
What’s in the PDF
- 2 pages: one full-page hunt and one page with two half-size hunts.
- Colour illustrations; black-and-white printing is readable too.
- No answers needed. The post also links related hunts (neighbourhood, alphabet, camping).
- Email signup is required to receive the file.
In the PDF
- 2-page PDF: full-sheet hunt and half-sheet hunt (two per page)