Listen to the birds outside. How many different kinds of birds can you identify by listening to their calls?

Find the hairiest leaf around. Where did you find the plant? Can you identify it?

Find the smoothest rock around. Can you identify it? Why is it so smooth?

Find something bumpy.

Pull up some grass in a field to expose the soil underneath. Take a handful of the soil and look at it closely. Is it mostly sand, clay, or dusty silt? You may have to put some in your mouth to find out.

How fast is the river flowing? Measure part of the shoreline (your average stride is probably 2-3 feet long). Throw something in the water that floats and count the seconds it takes to travel the measured distance. The speed of the water is:

Pick a section of the forest and look at the trees. How many different species of trees can you find? Look at the bark and the leaves. Can you identify them? Collect 1 leaf from each tree if you can reach them.

How many different kinds of wildflowers can you find? Can you identify them? DON'T PICK THE FLOWERS!!!!

Find the roughest leaf around. Can you identify the plant that it comes from? Where did you find the plant and how tall is it?

Examine the soil by the river and the soil in the forest. Are there any differences in color and smell? Taste them. Which one has more sand in it?

Sit down in the field for 5 minutes and be VERY quiet. What do you see? Hear? Smell? Is anything moving around you?

Find 2 plants with different shades of green in their leaves. Which one receives more sunlight? Which one is darker? Chlorophyll is the green pigment in leaves that makes food for plants. It absorbs sunlight to do so. Do your observations make sense?

Examine the ground around the river and stream. How high did the river flood during the highest stage of rain? How many feet has the river gone down (estimate)? DON'T GET TOO CLOSE AND FALL IN!!!!!

Find a pine cone. Pluck off a scale of the cone. Look at the end of it. Can you see the seed? Is it dusty? Sticky?

Find a dandelion and pull it out of the ground at its base. How long is the root? Why are dandelions so hard to kill? Do you think they absorb alot of water?

look for litter on the bikepath. Pick up as much as you can find. Is there more than you expected?

Find a plant with thorns or prickles. How tall is it? Why would a plant need thorns?

Find 2 plants with seeds. Examine the seeds. How are the two kinds different? Will the seeds fall near the plant and germinate, or could they be transported away? How?

What is the largest animal or insect you've seen? What is the smallest animal or insect you found? What are they doing? Do you affect its behavior?

Find the smelliest plant around. What does it smell like? Where did you find it?