University of Maine Cooperative Extension   4-H Earth Connections "Creating Sustainable Communities for the 21st Century"
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AGE LEVEL = 9-12 (7-13) DURATION = 30-40 min. LEARNING STATION = Forest, Coast RELATED ACTIVITIES = ←→ Envirolopes, Kim’s Game WHEN =

UNDERSTANDING: Solving nature riddles and exploring nature for the answers leads to creative thinking and increased powers of observation.

SPECIAL NOTES: This activity works well if children have some prior knowledge of interrelations.

MATERIALS:

• Woodland Scavenger Hunt List

• Pens or Pencils

• Clipboards (see Activity A)

PREPARATION: Have copies of the scavenger hunt checklist ready to distribute. Review the ecological concepts covered in the hunt (i.e., adaptations, predator-prey, changing communities, etc.). Some clues may require such knowledge. Do the scavenger hunt at the learning station yourself before introducing it to the children.

LESSON:

Warm-up: Divide the group into teams of two or three. Explain that they will be going on an unusual scavenger hunt in which they must decipher the meaning of each clue before they find the object. You may want to go over an example clue to help the group understand.

Activity: Discuss some rules and guidelines for collecting items. If it’s attached to the ground, a plant or a rock, it can not be collected. For items that are not collected, the name of the item should be written on the checklist. If live animals are collected, they should be kept alive and promptly released after the hunt.

Set down boundary lines and a time limit (usually 20 to 30 minutes). With boundaries, the children have a greater opportunity to use their observation powers to discover clues.

Hand out a clipboard, pencil, and list to each group. Let them explore while you circulate from group to group and answer questions and provide further clues as needed.

Wrap-up: End the scavenger hunt by regrouping in a sharing circle to discuss discoveries. Focus the children’s comments on natural cycles, interdependence and changes. The wrap-up discussion will depend on your spontaneity and ability to weave the discoveries into the child’s level of environmental awareness.

OPTIONS AND FURTHER EXPLORATIONS:

1. Instead of dividing the children into groups, have each child collect three or four items on the scavenger hunt checklist to report on.
    

2. Allow the children to make up their own scavenger hunts and try them on each other.

WOODLAND SCAVENGER HUNT ANSWERS:

2. rock or log where a squirrel ate seed from a cone  3. leaves and other organic matter  6. tracks, droppings, feather, fur, and so on  7. green plant  9. insect 12. gall 13. sand

14. feather 15. winged seed 16. acorn 17. predator 18. caterpillar 20. air

WOODLAND SCAVENGER HUNT CHECKLIST

1. A dead leaf from a hardwood tree ____ 2. A dining table for a squirrel ____ 3. A handful of local river fertilizer ____ 4. Materials for a fire ____ 5. A non-biodegradable piece of litter ____ 6. Evidence that an animal has been there ____ 7. A living thing that makes food from the sun ____ 8. Food for a four-legged herbivore ____ 9. A live beast with an outside skeleton ____ 10. Materials for a bird’s nest ____

11. A home for centipedes ____ 12. A home made by plants for insect larvae ____ 13. Handful of rocks 1/64 inch in diameter ____ 14. An animal covering held together by hooks and barbs ____ 15. A seed adapted for wind dispersal ____ 16. An oak tree fruit that deer eat ____ 17. An animal that kills another animal for its food ____ 18. An animal that crawls today, flies tomorrow ____ 19. Seeds that attract birds ____ 20. A mouthful of a clear gas ____