10 Fun Ways for Kids to Learn On Your Next Camping Trip

For kids, going camping with family and friends is an exciting adventure. Learning to live outdoors calls for creative adaptability and lots of teamwork. Help your kids discover what they love the most about camping and being close to nature. The following activities will get kids interacting with fellow campers while fostering an appreciation of the natural world.

1. Learn by Doing

When kids go camping, they learn how to adapt everyday activities like cooking, entertainment, and sleeping for outdoor living. As you set up camp, identify tasks your kids can help with and provide guidance to build their camping skills. Assign camp duties that align with your kid’s interest, like meal prep and cooking or setting up a comfy shelter.

2. Campfire Safety

Going camping means storytelling and roasted marshmallows around a flaming campfire. Before the fun starts, introduce your kids to Smokey Bear to learn about important campfire safety measures. Visit Smokey online for kid-friendly interactive games and wildfire prevention tips.

3. Explore Locally

A big part of the camping experience is becoming culturally immersed in local communities and nearby towns. Visit local artisans and farmers and discover hands-on regional activities like gold panning and sheep shearing. Trying things out for yourself is always fun for kids to learn new skills.

4. Read Interpretive Signs

Interpretive signs with colorful graphics and educational text depict the importance of scenic vistas and points of interest throughout state and national parks. Have your kids read what the sign says out loud, or read it to them. This way, you can learn about the history, cultures, and other facts that make a particular spot so special.

5. Park Ranger Presentations

When you stop at a park’s visitor center, find out when the next ranger-led presentation is scheduled. Rangers will share stories, park facts, and encourage kids to ask questions. Hearing engaging information from a ranger will help kids appreciate what they see—the mouth of the cave, petroglyphs, or the rings of a giant redwood stump.

6. Earn a National Park Jr. Ranger Badge

Pick up a Jr. Ranger activity booklet at national park visitor centers to complete during your stay. The Jr. Ranger program encourages kids to engage with the park surroundings, fulfilling the Jr. Ranger motto—“Explore-Learn-Protect.” Kids report their findings to a ranger who awards them with a badge bestowing a great sense of accomplishment.

7. Complete a National Jr. Ranger Booklet

Not camping near a national park? Download a National Jr. Ranger activity booklet to connect kids with nature topics across the national parks. The Night Skies Explorer booklet is perfect for dark sky camping, and the Archeologist or Paleontologist booklets for anywhere fossils can be unearthed.

8. Consult Nature Guides

Find regional plant, bird, insect, and animal identification guides before your trip, or look for them at local bookshops or park visitor centers. See how many different species your kids can identify on hikes and around camp. Check them off as you go. And if you’re planning to sleep under the stars, use a telescope or your naked eye to identify the constellations above with a sky chart.

9. Wildlife Viewing

Teach kids to appreciate wildlife from a respectful and safe distance. Kids can experience nature up close through binoculars and camera zoom while recording their findings by taking photos or making illustrated field notes.

10. Lead the Way

Encourage your kids to take the lead in a camp activity they enjoy. Kids will build leadership skills and a sense of pride for being at the front of the hike or pointing out the constellations when the stars come out.


Eva Barrows is a San Francisco Bay Area freelance writer. Eva writes about local places, people and events on her website www.evabarrows.com. She founded the online literary journal Imitation Fruit in 2007 and has enjoyed promoting fellow writers and artists ever since.

 

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