Youth Outdoors

Looking forward to this nice weather this weekend, so why not try another scavenger hunt?!!

Today we are challenging you to a City of Binghamton Outdoor Scavenger Hunt 2021 Edition!! There are 19 possible points to get on this hunt! Go visit some parks in the city and check out your finding skills!

HAPPY LABOR DAY! (EARLY)

September 7th, 2020 is Labor Day here in the United States. Labor Day "pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers and is traditionally observed on the first Monday in September. It was created by the labor movement in the late 19th century and became a federal holiday in 1894." Read more about the history of Labor Day HERE.

Families and friends all over the nation gather on this weekend in honor of Labor Day and as an annual mark of the end of Summer. Below you will find some fun ideas and crafts to do with loved ones this upcoming Labor Day weekend.

Reminder that COVID-19 is still a risk and social distancing should be maintained as well as avoiding mass social gatherings. Certain activities listed should only be done in your close social group or family unit.

1. Go Swimming: Our 3 city pools - Recreation and Southside -are all open through Labor Day 12:30pm - 6:15pm for general Swim and 6:30pm - 7:30pm for Adult Lap Swim. (Adjusted times for earlier sunset.). Cheri Lindsey Pool is open Now Through Sept 4th, 2020. They will be closed starting September 5th, 2020.

2. Go For a Hike/Pack a Picnic: Living here in Upstate New York, we have such an advantage and access to the great our doors. Broome County has an abundance of parks with fields and trails to explore. There is also Chenango Valley State Park, where you can hike, swim, camp, and fish. Even we, the City of Binghamton Parks Department, have a 30 Acre park with hiking and biking trails. Check it out sometime at 15 South Mountain Terrace. ALSO, check out our newly redeveloped park, at Sandy Beach. Walk through the trails of wildflowers and river view scenery while walking through the woods down to the creek that meets the mouth of the river. Make sure to not go hungry while on these walks. Pack a picnic for you and your family/friends. It could be a whole meal, or just some light snacks for when you reach the top of the mountain.

3. Have a Movie Night: Indoors? Outdoors? YOU CHOOSE! Make it a night on the town, but off the town. Choose your flick, pop your corn, get cozy, and enjoy. Movie nights can be so simply peaceful. Don't have a projector outdoors? Bring our TV outside with some extensions cords check the weather first (speaking from personal experience here). Or make the indoors feel like out. Fill your newly transformed theater into a domestic horticultural garden.

4. Make S'mores, Then make S'More S'Mores:

Oven Baked S'Mores

Microwaved S'Mores

REMINDER THAT OPEN FIRES ARE NOT PERMITTED INSIDE THE CITY OF BINGHAMTON AND CAN CAUSE SEVER DAMAGE TO HOMES PROPERTIES OR EVEN WOOD AREAS. PLEASE BE CAREFUL, CAUTIOUS, AND SMART WHEN USING FIRE

5. Read a Book: September 6th, 2020 is "Read a Book Day". So, do as it says. Pick up that thing that seems to be a thing of the past, smell the glorious smell of ink on paper and flip the pages as you transcend into the world the author has written and created for you. Sail the seas along side the great white whale Moby Dick. Explore inside your walls with the Barrowers. Or bond with an intelligent Spider, Charlotte and her amazing web. Below are links to book recommendations for multiple ages.

Ages 1 - 5 Ages 6 - 8 Ages 9 - 11 Ages 11 - 14

6. Go Camping: whether it is at a campsite in a park, your back yard, or even your living room. Use a regular tent you can get at any store, or make your own with around the house items. Take at least 3 poles, broom sticks, or mop handles and tie them together from one end about 4 - 6 inches from the top. Make sure they are tied TIGHT to keep them from slipping down. Once they are tied together you can space them out to create a tri-pod style set up and drape blankets over the sides to enclose the tepee. The attached photo shows holes drilled into the poles, but that is not needed.

7. Go Shopping: Labor is the marking of the end of summer. You know what that means.... CLEARANCE BABY. Get out there and find some thing(s) on discount for next season. Or just go for the event of it and get one of those amazingly soft, savory, salty, warm pretzels while window shopping. Remember, wear a mask in any public facility.

8. Some Long Overdue, Pushed Aside Home Projects: Think, how long have you been putting off doing that one thing around the house? Yeah, THAT long. There's no time like the present to finally get to doing it. Paint a room, organize your closet, wash your windows, dust those ceiling fans off (yes we all see the curling over dust bunnies), or simply even open up the whole house up for some fresh air. No matter what the project is, a great time to do it is this weekend, before cold weather sets in.

We hope you all have a safe, happy, fun, and enjoyable Labor Day.

We are so happy to see the sun is back out and the temperature is up, so for today's activity we are going to take advantage!

Today we are challenging you to a City of Binghamton Outdoor Scavenger Hunt.

So, grab your parents, siblings, or any other quarantine buddy you may have, and get outside. We have put together a list of outdoor items that you can find on a walk around your neighborhood!

I'm on the look out for the perfect rocks to do a little painting later or a tree that is in bloom for Spring!

How many items on our list can you find? There are a possible 17 points to get for your hunting skills.

Missing the fun of summer carnivals and fairs? You can set up your own similar games right in your backyard!

Water Gun Races:

1. String

2. Duct tape

3. Plastic cups

4. Scissors

5. Squirt guns

First, you will need to decide where you will have these races. The string must be hung between two points, and pulled so there is little to no slack in the line. Find your perfect spot, and only tie up one end. If you have nothing to attach the string to, use chairs or ladders, anything that will remain still while playing.

With parental supervision, poke a small hole into the bottom of your plastic cup(s), and put the string through it. Tie the other end up, and your course is ready to go! You may want to secure your ties with tape, just to make sure they do not come loose.

To play, have each of your players aim their squirt guns into the cup, to push them to the other end.

To make this even more fun and challenging, you can have the players:

Use their non-dominate hand to shoot, hop on one foot, play with one eye closed or covered, add a marble or quarter in each cup to make them heavier and harder to move.

They could also play in teams of two, having the player with the squirt gun blindfolded, the other player tells the blindfolded player where to squirt the squirt gun. Have them change places and play the course from end to beginning.

If you have a large group of kids, time how long it takes for each of them to complete the course. Then compare everyone’s times to see who the winner is! You can also choose to play in teams instead of individuals. The possibilities are endless

Happy Thursday! Have a few hours to spend outside? Why don't you build a...

Pool Noodle Obstacle Course!

Materials:

1. Multiple pool noodles

2. Tape

3. Scissors

4. Wooden dowels or pencils (to hold noodles in the ground)

First things first - count how many pool noodles you have to use. It is better if you plan out your course beforehand, to make sure you have enough material.

The circles will take one noodle - you can bend your noodle and tape the ends together. You can practice throwing a ball through. Bigger structures will take more than one pool noodle, so plan it out!

The best part about this activity is that you can make your obstacle course look HOWEVER YOU WANT!

Make obstacles to crawl under, climb over, run through, jump on... the possibilities are endless.

Make your obstacle course more difficult by timing the competitors

This is a night game and very simple to put together: all you need is 6 - 10 plastic water bottles without the labels full of water, 6-10 glow sticks, and a ball.

Place the water bottles in a triangle shape just how you would bowling pins (preferably 4 inches apart from one another) and put a glowing glow stick into each bottle of water then place the cap on.

Stand 60 feet away (standard bowing alley length) and use the ball to roll at the bottles just like the real game and try to knock them over. You can find bowling instructions and game formats online to play with others

With another hot day, comes a new activity to do outside! Remember to always keep water to drink on hand as well, in order to stay hydrated.

Today we have a Water bomb tutorial, as well as a game to play with them! They are super easy to make, and can be used in a bunch of different ways, so get thinking...

To make these, you'll need about 9 sponges, cotton string or elastic hair ties, and scissors.

1. Cut each of your sponges into 4 equal pieces

2.Take 4 sponge pieces and lay them side by side and stack 4 more directly on top of them (two layers)

3. Take a piece of string (or your hair tie) and tie around all the sponge pieces. Make sure to pull the string very tight and knot it.

4. Cut off the excess string

You are now ready to dip these into your buckets of water and throw them around - they will keep you cool during these hot days!

GAME: Water bomb toss is a game that only requires two (or more!) people, two buckets filled with cool water, and your new water bombs. Each player will kneel behind their bucket, and the other player will attempt to throw their water bombs into their opponent's bucket. The player who lands the most water bombs into the other's buckets, wins!

Did you know you can make a great home for a new plant out of a plastic water bottle?

Plastic Bottle Planters:

1. Plastic water bottle - any size will work

2. Ruler

3. Scissors or Xacto knife (be careful!)

4. Small piece of fabric or cheesecloth

5. Rubber bands

6. Paint or other decorations (optional)

1. Mark 1/2 way on the bottle, at cut at the mark (it does not have to be exact, just close to the middle).

2. Take the cap off and use the cloth to cover the mouth of the bottle. Secure the fabric with the rubber band around the neck of the bottle.

*Tip - now would be the time to decorate the inside of the bottle with non-toxic paint! Make sure to let the paint dry before moving on.*

3. Take the top half of the bottle and fill it with dirt about half way up.

4. Take a small plant/seed and put it on top of the dirt. Take more dirt and fill in around the edges. Make sure you have about 1″ of space above the dirt to the top of the container.

5. Put the top 1/2 of the bottle into the bottom 1/2. You can add three or four hole on the bottle, use wire/string to make it into a hanging planter!

What will you plant this spring?

1. Make your own sprinkler. All you need is a bottle (two liter works the best!) and a roll of strong tape. Poke holes all over the bottle, and attach the creation to your hose head, securing it with tape. Voila! You have your own sprinkler

2. Water baseball. A fun twist on a fan favorite! All you need is a bat, some players, buckets or bowls of cold water, and a bunch of sponges that will be used as the ball. The pitcher should dip the sponge into the cold water each time before pitching. The smaller the sponge, the harder the game!

3. Create-your-own water wall! Get creative and stay cool with creating a water wall at home. Use bottles, cartons, containers, old hose pieces for connectors, really ANYTHING. How many obstacles can you make for the water to pass through? Great for teaching kids about building! *this one will require adult help and supervision*

4. Dip, Dip, Dunk. It's the same concept as Duck Duck Goose but as you go around you carry a small bucket of water say "dip dip dip dip." Once you're ready to "Goose" someone, you say "Dunk!" instead and dump the bucket of water onto them.That person then has to chase you around the circle until they catch you BEFORE you reach their seat. If they do not catch you, and you sit down in their chair, they are now it. If they do catch you, then you must be it for another round until someone is unable to catch you.

PLEASE REMEMBER: used and broken water balloons are hazardous materials for local wildlife who confuse them for food and are considered trash. Please be respectful and mindful of the outdoors by picking up and disposing of your water balloon trash into a garbage can!

the Binghamton Parks and Recreation department has compiled a list of our favorite water games to play in the sun.

Here are some suggestions:

1. "Water bomb tag:" All you need is a sponge (or water balloons) and a bucket of water to play this one. Someone is "it" and they are given the bucket and the sponge or water balloons. They then have to throw the sponge until it hits another player, who is then "it". A cool twist on tag.

2. "Pop goes the water balloon:" You'll need water balloons for this activity. Have all players stand in a row or a circle. Using a timer or music, let the group pass the water balloon around. Whoever is holding the balloon when the time stops will have to break it on themselves, and then they are out. A new round will then begin.

3. "Fill-the-bottle relay:" Have one player sit on the ground with a water/ soda bottle on their head. The other players will attempt to fill up the bottle on the other player's head using a plastic drinking cup and a bucket of water. Make it a relay and the first team of two that fills up their bottle wins (bigger the bottle, the bigger the challenge, or using a sponge to fill the bottle instead of a drinking cup)

4. "Frozen feet:" Have players sitting with their feet in a bucket of water. At the sound of the start, the judge will dump a container of ice into the water bucket. Each player will attempt to pull as many ice cubes from the water using only their feet. Person with the most ice out at the end of the timer is the winner

5. "Pop goes the water balloon (with a twist): For this one, you will need a bucket of water balloons. Before filling them, use a pin to poke a small hole in each balloon. Then have the players toss the balloon around until it is empty or pops - the one holding the balloon when this happens is out!

8. "Water balloon volley:" You’ll need a bucket full of water balloons for this game. Divide players into two teams and pair them up. Each pair of players gets a beach towel and each child holds two corners of the towel. One pair begins the game by placing a water balloon in the center of their towel. The object is to toss the balloon from one pair of kids to another, with the opposing side catching the balloon in their towel.This can be played with a net, or simply pace off a distance between opposing teams.

Today, we're going old school:

The Binghamton Parks and Recreation Department is challenging you to get outside to play some classic outdoor games. The website linked below has a great selection of games with a short rule guide if you need more ideas. We went ahead and picked out the four best ones to get you all up and moving:

1. Freeze Dance

2. Shadow Tag

3. Red Light, Green Light

4. Button, Button, Whose Got the Button

Many of the games need at least two people, so grab everyone in the house, get outside and get moving.

If you have any games that you like to play, please share them below to give others ideas!

A fun twist on a kid-favorite parachute!

Use a bed sheet (full-sized or bigger preferred) and have a person hold each corner (fill in the sides if more people are there to join).

Have a ball with each players name written on it and place each one onto the bed sheet. All at once throw them in the air while still holding onto the sheet.

You all as a team must try and collect all balls from the air into the bed sheet as they fall before they touch the ground. if your ball does not make it into the bed sheet. you are out, continue to do this until there is only one person left.

They are the winner!

Paint Circles in the lawn (don't worry you can mow it off in a week).

To make perfect circles cut out the inside of a paper plate and paint 4 rows of 5 circles, so 20 all together.

Each row of 5 should be a different color. If you don't want to paint your lawn, use rocks or just write a color on a paper plate. Then on 4 strips of paper write one for each arm and leg (ie. left leg, right leg, left foot, right foot) and place into a bowl.

Then, on 4 more strips of paper write, the 4 colors you used and place them into another bowl. Pull out a strip from each bowl per turn to determine where to place your hand or foot.

Make sure to replace the strips back into he bowl for the next persons turn

Each geographical location has its own unique set of birds that inhabit it, so let's learn more about the birds of Binghamton.

When watching:

1. Be observant, using eyes and ears to find birds in all the different habitats. Birds can be found on the ground foraging for food, taking shelter in shrubs or trees, flying across the yard or high up in the sky!

2. Take note of size, shape, colors and patterns, songs and calls, behaviors and habitats of birds.

3. Be aware of repeat observations during your count period. Try not to double-count moving birds in your tallies

Attached to this post is a list of local birds, as well as a sheet that can be printed and filled out in order to track which birds you are seeing.

If you prefer to do this virtually there is an app called eBird that will send your tracking to Cornell University. You will have to make an account on the app to submit your observations.

No matter which way you submit, all observations that are sent in are used to better understand global bird populations

How many different birds can you find? If you find a bird that you want to know more about, Cornell University has a great site where you can type in a bird species, and it will give you a ton of interesting facts! Check it out at:

All About Birds Cornell

You can create bird feeders in all shapes and sizes when you mold them.

You’ll need:

1. Cookie cutters – any shape!

2. 2 packets of flavorless gelatin mix

3. Boiling water

4. Birdseed

5. String or ribbon

6. Straws

Boil as much water as two packets of flavorless gelatin call for. Mix the gelatin together until dissolved.

Add enough birdseed to your gelatin mixture so there is no excess liquid at the bottom of your bowl. Cover a tray with parchment paper and place your cookie cutters on it.

Fill the molds with the birdseed gelatin mixture, one tablespoon at a time. Make sure you are overfilling the molds. as it will help them keep their shape. When completely filled, press down on top of them with parchment paper, to flatten out your shapes.

Stick your straw into the spot where the string will go. Let the molds sit with the straws in them overnight, or until hardened.

The next morning, after taking the straws out, tie your string through the hole and you can hang these little feeders anywhere!

Kids will love this project, and if you don’t have a lot of cookie cutters on hand, you can use mason jar lids or anything that will create a mold.

This bird feeder is easy to make, and you most likely have all the materials to make it around the house. A plastic soda bottle and a couple of wooden spoons makes a great bird feeder.

You’ll need:

1. A plastic bottle

2. Wooden spoons

3. Scissors

4. Decorations (optional)

To make this bird feeder, you just have to make holes in the bottle for the spoons and be sure that you angle the spoons downward so that the bird feed will drizzle onto them.

The one we made had two spoons, but the possibilities are endless.

Today, July 8th, 2020 is National Blueberry Day! The weather looks a little down today, but HERE is a link for places you can go in the surrounding area to pick blueberries.

Each location has certain rules, availability and times surrounding COVID-19 so be mindful of them.

Getting outside and enjoying this beautiful weather we have upcoming these next few days is a fun and great way to spend time with those you wish to invite. The more you pick the more you have to celebrate.... National Blue Berry Muffin Day on July 11th, 2020! Who doesn't love a warm blueberry muffin in the morning, or the afternoon, or in the evening, or as a midnight snack... lets be honest blueberry muffins are great anytime of day! HERE is a link for "To Die For Blueberry Muffins" ….

Happy Blueberry-ing