Summer Nature Study

Tips for Summer Nature Study ::

• Arrange your schedule to go outside early in the morning (tip: eat breakfast outside)

• Arrange your schedule to go outside late at night (tip: full moon hike or scorpion hunting)

• Many local nature sites, such as Desert Botanical Garden, offer early/late hours during the summer

• Take spray bottles of water to mist the kids during outdoor nature study

• Turn on your sprinklers before or after nature study in the yard

• Visit a nature site with water (i.e. a creek, Hassayampa River Preserve, Gilbert Riparian Preserve, Arizona Falls)

• The Phoenix Zoo has great splash pads to cool off before or after nature study

• Visit a pool or splash pad and do nature study nearby while the kids are still wet

• Do outdoor nature study near a library and then relax in the library's cool air conditioning afterward

• Find indoor areas such as an aquarium or the koi pond at Embassy Suites Biltmore

• Study pets, insect farms, and/or indoor gardens

• Add a bird feeder in your yard where you can watch from indoors

• Pull out specimens you have collected throughout the year and revisit them

• Borrow a resource box or kit from the Arizona Game & Fish Department (click here)

• Watch episodes from Arizona Wildlife Views (click here)

• Watch episodes from The Desert Speaks (click here)

• Visit Arizona Museum of Natural History

• Take day trips to the mountainous areas of the state (don't forget Mt. Lemmon in Tucson)

• Pack your nature study materials when you go on vacation to the beach, etc.