Explore with All of Your Senses

All animals rely on their senses to explore and understand their habitats. They need their different senses to survive. Senses help animals find food, communicate, move around, build their homes, protect themselves from predators, and so much more!

Explore your home and nearby nature areas with all of your senses with the following fun activities!

TOUCH

An animal’s sense of touch can be a vital tool for them to survive. Many animals use their sense of touch to navigate their environment.

Feeling it! Scavenger hunt: Find Something in your home or nearby while outside that is…

• Smooth

• Rough

• Pokey

• Slimy

• Hard

• Soft

• Wet

• Hairy

• Bumpy

EYESIGHT

Humans rely on their eyesight more than any other sense. Scientists estimate that 80% of our understanding of what is happening around us comes from our eyesight.

Go outside your home, and look for the following shapes and colors in nature! Record your observations in your nature journal!

1. Find an item in the shape of a triangle

2. Find an item in the shape of a square

3. Find an item in the shape of a circle

4. Find an item that is an odd shape, try to sketch it

5. Find something that is red

6. Find something that is green

7. Find something that is brown

8. Find something that is blue

9. Find something with more than one color

SCENT

Scent Investigations

Bears have one of the strongest senses of smells of any terrestrial mammals! Let’s practice being like a bear. Smell has a strong connection to our memories. To be able to share our observations on what we are smelling we need to use descriptive words, or adjectives. You might describe fresh baked cookies as sweet, or tasty for example.

For this activity, find at least four things that have a smell in nature, such as pine needles, mud, or tree bark.

1. Write down or draw the name of each object you find. Smell each of them, thinking about how to describe the smells. Do they smell good? Bad? Weak or strong? Do they remind you of anything?

2. Discuss what you found with your family or friends. Tell them your answers to these questions:

3. What was your favorite smell that you found?

4. What smell was the strongest? Did you like the strong smell?

5. Do you think any of the smells you found could be food to some animal? Why or why not?