Last Updated on June 21, 2025 by Audrey
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Looking to get your kids excited about the outdoors? These nature study ideas are a great way to spark curiosity, learn about nature, and enjoy hands-on science together. Whether you’re homeschooling, planning weekend activities, or just want to encourage more time outside, these ideas are both fun and educational.
Bonus: all of them are easy to do at (or very close to) home. Let’s get started! Here are 10 fun nature study ideas for kids:
1. Bird Watching Adventures
One of the easiest nature study ideas to start with is bird watching. Build a birdhouse or make a simple bird feeder with peanut butter and birdseed. Equip kids with child-friendly binoculars and a bird field guide to identify different species. Keep a bird journal to record sightings and behaviors.
2. Start a Rock Collection
Rocks are everywhere and kids love collecting them! We live near the great lakes and love collecting rocks every time we go to the beach! Wherever you are, encourage your child to gather rocks from different places and sort them by color, size, or texture.
You can even start a rock collection and keep them sorted with a date/location label. (This makes a fun souvenir from different trips!) Grab a field guide and try to identify some of the rocks. This nature study idea can grow into learning about geology, minerals, and even simple rock classification.
Grab the book Rock Collecting for Kids: An Introduction to Geology and a collection tray like this one and get started!
3. Tree Ring Studies (Dendrochronology)
Introduce kids to the science of tree rings with a hands-on approach. On your next hike (or even in your own yard or neighborhood) find a stump or a cross-section of a fallen tree and count the rings to estimate its age. This nature study idea teaches about growth patterns, drought years, and even local history. The tree rings can give clues about weather patterns and events from the past! Read more about tree ring studies and grab my free printables to use here!
4. Animal Tracking
Head outside after a rain or snow to look for animal tracks. Use a field guide like Tracks, Scats, and Signs (Take Along Guide) to identify them. You can even make plaster casts of prints for your nature shelf. This is one of the most exciting nature study ideas for kids who love animals and adventure. Read here for more animal tracking activities for kids plus free printables!
5. Leaf Print Tracing and Tree Identification
Go on a tree walk and collect a variety of leaves. Back at home, trace them or make leaf rubbings. Use a tree guide to match leaves to their tree species. Tactile nature study ideas like this one build observation skills and plant knowledge.
6. Raise Butterflies
Butterfly kits make it easy to watch the full life cycle from caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly. Journal the changes, draw pictures, and release them into your garden. It’s one of the most magical and interactive nature study ideas you can do right at home. Read about monarchs and plant milkweed to attract them to your yard in the future.
7. Explore Insects with a Bug Kit
Give your child a bug catching kit that includes a magnifying glass, bug cage, and insect ID cards (among other things!) Observe ants, beetles, spiders, and more. Go on an insect scavenger hunt. You can even get an ant farm to observe insect behavior indoors. This is a hands-on nature study idea kids will love returning to.
8. Discover a Pond Ecosystem
Visit a local pond or wetland with a net and container. Scoop up water to observe tiny organisms, tadpoles, or water beetles. Look at a sample of water under a portable microscope. Talk about the pond as a living ecosystem. Read the book Over And Under The Pond. Nature study ideas like this one encourages ecological awareness and inquiry-based learning.
9. Wildflower Walk and Pressing
Take a wildflower walk and bring a field guide to help identify what you find. Carefully pick a few blooms to press between pages or get your own flower press. Read What’s Inside A Flower? and dissect one to see if you can identify the parts. Create a wildflower scrapbook for one of the prettiest nature study ideas to remember your season outdoors.
10. Study the Weather
Track daily weather using simple tools like a thermometer, barometer, and rain gauge. Observe cloud types, draw weather symbols, and graph temperature changes. Make your own wind vane or rain in a jar. Read The Magic School Bus Inside a Hurricane. Weather watching is a daily nature study idea that builds routine and curiosity.
Ready to Explore?
These nature study ideas are a wonderful way to learn, bond, and appreciate the world around us. No matter the season, there’s always something new to discover outside. Grab a journal, some tools, and your sense of wonder—and start your next nature adventure today!
Looking for ways to explore nature with kids? Check out this DIY nature explorer kit you can make at home!
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