Outdoor Activities

Make a leaf rubbing

Find a leaf that has fallen from a tree. Use any type of thin paper (not construction paper) and a pencil or crayon to make rubbings of different leaves you find on the ground in the Emerald Necklace. Put the leaf under the paper and gently draw back and forth across the leaf. The image of the leaf will be left on the paper. You could start a scrapbook of leaves from all the Emerald Necklace parks and then take your book to the library to identify the different trees you found.

NOTE: Parents, please show your children what poison ivy looks like and be sure they do not use it for this activity.

Look at Nature

Before a visit to a park, decorate two empty toilet paper rolls.
Staple them together to make mini-binoculars. Take them
outside for a game of "I Spy" looking for items from nature.
Look for things near by, in middle range and far away.

Make a Peanut Butter Bird Feeder

Find a large pinecone outside and bring it home. Have your parents help you spread peanut butter on the outside and then role it in a pile of birdseed. Hang the feeder with string on a tree in your backyard and watch the birds enjoy their treat!

Arnold Arboretum Scavenger Hunt

Click here for a scavenger hunt to be used in the Arnold Arboretum, one of the Emerald Necklace parks. This is a great activity for small groups or large teams and can be used as a photo-scavenger hunt or simply to familiarize oneself with the Arboretum. We recommend the use of a map of the Arboretum that can be found in the Visitor Center in the Hunnewell Building or by visiting the Arnold Arboretum page of our website.