DIY Kids Explorer Kit for Nature Study

It’s Day 4 of our 10 Days of Nature Study for kids series and today I’m going to share with you our DIY kids’ explorer kit for nature study! It’s fun to have everything you need in a bag or backpack ready to go for your little explorer before you get ready to go for a nature walk or hike. For Christmas last year, I made my son a nature bag and that’s what we use whenever we are going out for a nature study! Let me show you what we keep in it!

DIY Kids’ Explorer Backpack

Bag or Backpack

I’ve mentioned before, but we use this bag. A backpack would be a great option, too. 

All of your nature study supplies

Yesterday I shared with you all of our nature study supplies. We keep bug containers, tweezers, pencils, a nature notebook and more in the nature bag so we are ready to collect anything we find! 

Sunscreen

We always bring sunscreen of some sort along.

Hand sanitizer

We always keep a travel sized hand sanitizer with us just in case.

Wipes

Baby wipes are a must for wiping little hands.

Bug repellant

I attract mosquitoes like crazy. While I do keep traditional bug repellant on hand, I really love the Bug Away from Rocky Mountain Oils. It’s part of their kids line and I just rub a little behind our ears, on our wrists, and on our ankles and it works pretty well for everything except gnats.

Snacks

Everyone loves snacks! Some great snacks to bring along for your nature walk include trail mix, Lara bars, fruit, and beef jerky. I’ll have a special post next week dedicated to just snacks on the trail! 

Water bottle

I love, love my S’ip by S’well water bottles. They are stainless steel and keep the water cold! Plus, there are lots of cute designs to choose from. We each bring our water bottles with us so we can stay hydrated while out! 

Field Guides

I actually don’t keep a lot of paper field guides. I use two apps on my iPhone.

Picture This – This is a pretty cool app. You can take a picture of any plant and the app will try to identify it. It’s not always accurate, but it does a pretty good job.

Audobon Bird Guide – This app includes a field guide, helps you identify birds based on your location, and is really, really awesome!