close up of a beetle on a leaf

Children love to collect things. I bet when you come home from a walk you’ll find little things hidden in their pockets. As adults we tend to see only the big things in front of our eyes, but children are closer to the ground and they notice the little things and the detail too. Have a competition to see who can create the largest collection of the smallest things

What you will need

A small container for each person taking part

Activity
  • Find two small empty boxes like a match box or a yoghurt pot
  • Go out for a walk to your local park, beach or the woods and whilst there, try and fit as many small objects in your box as possible. No duplicates allowed. Put seeds, pebbles, grass, bark, petals, daisies, shells or leaves in the box
  • Find a spot to sit down and lay out all the objects you have found. Count them together. Who found the most? Which objects do you like best?
wellies logo
Try

If you haven’t got a box, just see how many objects you can fit in your pocket. Or set a challenge to fill the box or pocket with only pebbles, or only daisies.

Did you know?

Naturalists have always made collections of natural objects. Some people collect shells, some collect and press flowers, some collect bones. In the past people used to collect animals and keep them as stuffed animals in museums like the Natural History Museum.

Wellies in the woods logo spring