Outdoor Learning

"Planning for more frequent use of this outdoor space across the curriculum will help children to adhere to social distancing, engage in physical activity and build their sense of wellness and contentment." (DES, 2020, p. 13)

STEM in the Open Air

The STEM outdoor activities outlined below integrate aspects of Maths, Science and other curriculum subjects. For further details, explanations about the activities marked*, and to explore more opportunities for learning in the outdoors, please watch our STEM in the Open Air webinar.

Pupils can use the prompts linked below to record their observations.

The Leaf Man

This activity has been inspired by the story of The Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert. This story follows a group of autumn leaves as they are blown by the wind over fields, past orchards and across lakes and rivers. The leaves start out in the shape of a man and take on different configurations as they travel. A read aloud of this story can be found by clicking on the link below.

For this activity, encourage pupils to gather different materials such as twigs, stones and leaves, making their own creations on the ground. The teacher can choose to take photos to record the pupils’ creations. The following questions may be useful to encourage pupils to explain their creations: What items did you collect? Where did you find your items? What colour are the leaves you found? How would you describe their texture?How many did you find? Why did you sort them this way? Could you design any other creations using the leaves?

Alternatively, pupils could design their creations on a large adhesive sticker or card with glue/double-sided sticky tape while outdoors and these can then be brought back into the classroom.

The Leaf Man: Integrated Learning

Click here to view how this activity could be integrated with different areas of the curriculum (p.1)

Sit Spot*

See image for Curriculum links.

Invite the pupils to sit down and take three deep breaths to relax. They can use their senses to observe and wonder. A sit spot can be used to focus on various senses (see webinar for more examples). In this instance we will focus on hearing.

  • Close your eyes and listen to the sounds around you.

  • Is there a bird singing above you?

  • Is that a car beeping behind you?

Pupils then create a sound map to record the directions the sounds came from. They can then use the sound map to identify the sounds they heard, if the sound was near or far away, and explain why they liked/disliked the sound.

Zoom In, Zoom Out*


For this activity, pupils will need a looking tube - the pupils can use a cardboard tube from a roll of kitchen towel or make one from a rolled - up piece of paper.


The pupils can choose to focus on something within their space, zooming in to see the finer details and zooming out to see the object as a whole. Encourage the pupils to make observations about the colours, textures, etc. In the image on the left, you will see the pupil examining a rock with their looking tube.


Invite pupils to record their observations with drawings. Pupils should look at and record the shape, size, texture, colours, lines and angles of the object. Observational drawing is about recording the observations rather than creating a "perfect" piece of art.


*For more details on this activity see STEM in the Open Air.

Middle Classes

Create a Sun Clock

In this activity, pupils will explore how shadows are formed and affected by the Earth's movement and how a sun clock can be created by tracking shadows throughout the day. Encourage pupils to discuss how often they will track their shadows and to plan the times of the day that they will record their shadows. To create the sun clock, pupils will begin by standing in a spot in the school yard with access to direct sunlight and their partner will trace around their shadow with chalk and note the time at which this was completed. Pupils should also mark their standing spot with an 'X' as they will return to this exact spot to record their shadows at different times during the day. As an alternative approach to completing this activity in pairs, pupils could complete the activity independently by placing an object in the same spot in the school yard at different times and record the shadows created. Encourage pupils to consider which object would work best for this activity, for example, is the object transparent, is it self-standing etc.

Here are some suggested questions to guide talk and discussion in this activity:

  • Why did the shadow move across your shadow clock?

  • Can you predict where you think the next shadow will be?

  • Did the length of the shadow change?

  • At what time was the shadow the longest/shortest?

  • When would shadow clocks not work? Why would they not work?

Create a Sun Clock: Integrated Learning

Click here to view how this activity could be integrated with different areas of the curriculum (p.2).

Bowling Bottles*

In this STEM activity, pupils will investigate bowling bottles. To begin, pupils can explore the bottles and predict how far they think the bottles will travel. Pupils can discuss how they will keep their tests fair when comparing the bowling bottles e.g. measuring from the same starting point on each roll, using a consistent force etc. The investigation sheet attached below could be used to support pupils in recording their investigations. Pupils can investigate how changes to the bottle affect the distances travelled e.g. changing the capacity, adding weights in the bottles etc. As a further extension, pupils could be challenged to design their own scoring system for a bowling bottles game


Senior Classes

This activity is adapted from www.outdoorclassroomday.com

Design a Maze

This activity uses the design and make process to create an outdoor maze. Before beginning this task, stimulate the pupils' curiosity and interest by making observations about different mazes. A selection of mazes in Ireland can be found here. Consider collaboratively devising criteria for the maze.

Explore: Allow the pupils time to explore the natural materials available to them in the outdoors. If materials are very limited in your school environment consider providing the pupils with chalk. Encourage pupils to consider if they will use a scale in their maze design and to explain and justify their choice.

Design: Pupils work on the design of their maze. Encourage pupils to sketch and label their designs to include the route, dead ends, etc.

Make: Pupils get to work on creating their maze on the school yard. Ask pupils to record any changes to their design and reasons for these changes. Pupils should estimate the length of their maze before measuring and should consider what measuring equipment to use. Consider photographing the completed mazes.

Evaluate: Invite pupils to evaluate their designs in terms of the criteria that has been devised. Did you make any changes to your design, why/why not? Is there anything you would change or do differently next time? Why? What shape combinations/tessellations would you recommend to a maze designer who has never made one before? Give a reason for your recommendation.

Design a Maze: Integrated Learning

Click here to view how this activity could be integrated with different areas of the curriculum (p.3).

Sail or Fail: Fantastic Frisbees

In this activity, pupils will engage in inquiry-based learning by investigating and creating frisbees. Pupils can begin by investigating how frisbees sail through the air, considering how the weight/shape/material affects the movement of the frisbee. Pupils can also explore objects that could be used as frisbees e.g. bottle-tops, container lids etc. Once the objects have been chosen, pupils can decide how to measure the success of each frisbee. Pupils could compare frisbees by measuring the amount of time that they float in the air or by measuring the distance that each frisbee travels. It is important that pupils consider how to keep their tests fair. The investigation sheet attached below could be used to support pupils in recording their investigations. Pupils can use the findings of their investigations to influence the design of their own frisbees, considering what materials they will use (paper plates, paper, card, cardboard etc.) and what shape their frisbee will be. Once pupils have created their frisbees, they can evaluate their designs by repeating the fair-test completed with the objects in the exploring stage.

A video explanation of this activity can be accessed here (go to 47:02) in the webinar STEM and Sport.