Everyone loves wildlife! Have you ever been watching wildlife but not carefully and the wild animals moved very quickly and disappeared? If so, this activity is for you! This activity will help you practice your observation and awareness skills so you do not miss wildlife in the future.
Want to do drawings or take notes of what you can see? Also try out our Nature Journal activity beforehand and take your own personal nature notebook with you on your adventures!
What You’ll Need
You and your friends
An open space
A notebook or piece of paper, and a pencil (for version 2 &3)
What To Do
Version 1 (Group Game)
Head to an open space, inside or outside.
Break up the group into 2 lines, pairing up so the lines are facing each other, about 6 feet apart.
Look at your partner in the other line and observe everything about them you can. Both of you turn around so you are no longer facing each other. No peeking!
Change three things about your appearance. (e.g. Pants leg tucked in sock, unzipping a jacket, one shoe off)
Turn around at the same time and try to figure out the changes in your partner’s appearance. Let your partner do the same.
Once everyone has figured out the changes, everyone needs to take 5 big steps backward and rotate one side. This gives everyone a new partner and a tougher challenge. Repeat the above steps.
Version 2 (Quiet Observation)
This activity can also be thought of as a way to quietly observe our surroundings.
Find a spot in a natural area with little to distract you.
Set a timer and let your senses unwind as you take in your surroundings.
To help focus, some may choose to draw what you are seeing. You can also draw a sound map, which is basically drawing what you hear around you. For this, place an X in the middle of a piece of paper to represent you. Anything you hear should be drawn to where you think the sound is coming from, from where you’re sitting.
Version 3 (Moss Circles)
This is a great way to do a quiet observation but zoomed in. You’d be surprised just how much is happening on such a small scale! Not all wildlife is large, some can be quite small such as insects.
Take a length of string, about 1 foot long, and tie to make a circle.
Place the circle on the ground in a natural area where there is a diversity of plants or materials.
On a piece of paper, draw a large circle to represent the one on the ground.
Draw as many different types of things, living and non-living, that you can find within the circle.
Ask Yourself
Photo by Doris May
Why does this activity help with observational skills?
What kinds of wildlife can be observed in the wild?
Was the activity easy or hard for you? Did it get easier as the activity continued?
What else can you do to practice your observation skills?
