Nature Science Detective Kits and cross-curricular activities with free printable plant and animal identification guides

Hello my Omschooligans! Looking for summer enrichment activities for kids that are hands-on? Here's are nature science lesson plans. Make nature detective kits to explore wildlife science concepts. Use this activity to welcome kids back to school. It makes a great end of the year party as well! Kids will love playing nature CSI investigators! Homeschooling parents will love these inexpensive, all-age-friendly science lessons. It's ideal for summer camp, too.

Nature Science Detective Kits materials (1 per student)

--large gallon size zipper bag or cheap carry-all bag to store supplies

--plastic magnifying glass (available in bulk at Amazon or Oriental Trading)

--one-subject notebook

--pocket folder (cheap at Amazon, Walmart, Staples, Target)

-- one pair disposable nitrile gloves (choose latex free)

--tweezers or cotton swabs (both would be useful, but use cotton swabs if you're looking to save money. plastic bulk pack tweezers are available at Amazon for around $8 for 30) Use these to collect specimens.

--3 or 4 specimen bags (snack size Zip-Loc)

--3-4 larger specimen bags (sandwich size Zip-loc)

--sheet of label stickers

--pen and pencil

-- roll of invisible Scotch tape

--several pieces of yarn or string

--box of crayons ($.25 at back-to-school sales)

--bug box for temporary observation (respectfully house and then release the critter) 

--Animal tracking guide (see links below for free printables)

--Tree and leaf identification charts (links below)

--measuring tape 

Use these free printable measuring tools in "Nature Detective" kits

These resources are excellent because they are designed to be printed, cut out, and taped together to create a full-length measuring tape:

• Printable Rulers & Measuring Tapes: This site offers a great selection of PDF templates, including one-foot rulers that feature both centimeters and inches, as well as metric-only options.

• LabelValue Free Printable Ruler: This resource is designed to be printed to scale (be sure to select "Actual Size" in your printer settings) and includes both inches and centimeters.

• Timeless Templates: They provide specific downloads for both inch-based and metric measuring tapes, which are very useful for DIY assembly.

Important Tips for Accuracy

To ensure these tools are accurate for scientific observation:

• Print at "Actual Size": When printing, always check your settings to ensure the document is set to "Actual Size" or "100% scale." Do not select "Fit to Page" or "Shrink to Fit," as this will alter the measurements.

• Verify Scale: Most of these PDFs include a way to verify accuracy—often by comparing a printed inch to a real credit card or a known ruler. It's a great "quality control" step to have the students perform before they start their investigation!

  
  
  

Printable Animal Tracking Guides

• Animal Track Identification Guide (Town of Thornton): This is a fantastic, comprehensive PDF guide featuring black-and-white sketches of various North American animal tracks. It is perfect for printing and keeping in a nature kit.

• New Hampshire Fish and Game Pocket Guide: A very practical, foldable "pocket guide" that provides a quick reference list of track sizes for many common animals.

• Animal Tracks Printable Book & Cards (PreKinders): Designed specifically for younger learners (preschool/kindergarten), this resource includes a printable book and matching cards, which are excellent for learning games and building early identification skills.

• Animal Tracks Printable Cards (Fox Farm Home): These cards are perfect for interactive outdoor play. You can punch a hole in the corner and put them on a ring to take on the trail, or use them for memory matching games at home.

• Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Districts Guide: This is a clear, text-and-line-drawing-based guide that explains key identification features like the number of toes, stride patterns, and claw impressions.

Pro-Tips for Your Tracking Adventures

• Laminate for Longevity: Since tracking is an outdoor activity often done in mud, snow, or damp conditions, printing these on cardstock and laminating them (or covering them with clear packing tape) will keep them protected in the field.

• "Nature Detective" Kit Hack: Have the kids create a "Track Viewer" by cutting a square hole in the center of two pieces of cardboard (as suggested in some of the links above). This helps them focus on a single set of tracks at a time, making it easier to notice details like size and shape without getting overwhelmed by the surroundings.

• Journaling Observations: Encourage students to draw the tracks they find in their nature journals. Even if they can't identify the animal immediately, sketching the shape, noting the number of toes, and measuring the stride (the distance between tracks) is exactly what professional field biologists do!

Printable Tree & Leaf Identification Resources

• Woodland Trust: Nature Detectives Spotter Sheets: This site is a goldmine for young investigators. They offer a wide variety of PDF spotter sheets, including:

  • Leaf ID Sheet: A clear, easy-to-use guide for identifying common tree leaves.

  • Twig, Blossom, and Fruits & Seeds Sheets: Great for expanding your kit beyond just leaves to include identification in all seasons.

• JDaniel4's Mom: Leaf ID Chart & Cards: This set includes a chart and individual cards that you can punch a hole in and put on a metal ring—perfect for carrying around on a trail.

• Educate Outside: North American Leaf Identification Cards: A beautifully illustrated set of cards featuring 16 common North American tree leaves, designed specifically for teachers and students.

• Imperial College London: Tree Identification Guide: A more detailed, 8-page guide that is excellent for older students or those who want to learn the specific terminology of leaf shapes, margins, and venation.

Tips for Your Tree Investigation Kits

• Specimen Sorting: If you have collected leaves, have the kids use their identification cards to "sort" their findings. Laying the collected leaves out next to the corresponding cards is a fantastic way to practice categorization skills.

• Seasonal Focus: Remind your detectives that trees change throughout the year. If you are doing this activity in winter, try to focus on the twig identification sheets, as many trees will have dropped their leaves by then!

Using Nature Detective Kits:

• Make kit assembly part of the lesson. Set out supplies in stations and give students gallon zipper bag and supplies list. This provides experience in counting, sorting and organizing.

• Using stickers, kids label notebook: Investigator (name)____________ or Detective (name)____________. Label bags: Exhibit A, B, C or Evidence. As evidence is collected, data and date should be added. For example: 'beetle exoskeleton 9-3-2015.

• Go on nature investigation hunts around your neighborhood, school playground or camp. Assign students different items to investigate, native to your area. 

• Students should not keep living specimens, but they might bring a bug box to temporarily house and examine a living critter.

• Look for evidence of living creatures: 
• bug carcasses
• exoskeletons
• fallen leaves
• feathers
• owl pellets
• seed pods
• rocks
• fallen nest
• bits of animal fur
• bark samples
• plant parts
• wildflowers (pick just one)
• rocks.

• Have students draw living creatures, homes and habitats: spider's web, bird's nest, wasp's nest, rabbit hole, ant hill, scat (animal droppings). 

• Students should record when and where they observed it. Students shouldn't touch but may observe scat (animal droppings) or dead animal remains. 

• In class, have children discuss and hypothesize on findings at their level of reasoning. 

• Students might create a natural history museum displaying what they have found. Students can act as young docent guides, explaining discoveries to visitors.
  
  
  

Nature Detective Measurement Activities

• "Size of the Find": Have the students measure the length or width of items they have collected (e.g., leaves, rocks, or pinecones). They can record these measurements in their one-subject notebook next to their "Exhibit" label.

• "How Tall Is It?": Use the large-print metersticks to measure features that aren't easily collected, such as the height of an ant hill, a patch of wildflowers, or even the diameter of a tree trunk.

• "Scale Estimation": Before measuring, have students hypothesize the size of an object. This builds scientific reasoning skills. Ask: "Do you think this leaf is longer than 5 centimeters?" Then, have them use their printable ruler to check their guess.

• "Life-Size Illustrations": Challenge the students to draw a creature or plant exactly to scale in their journals, using their rulers to ensure accuracy.

• The Big/Small Hunt": Challenge students to find the smallest leaf and the largest rock in a specific area. Use their printable rulers to record the exact difference in size between the two.

• "Tree Diameter Challenge": Since it's hard to measure a tree with a straight ruler, teach them to use a piece of string to wrap around the trunk, mark the length, and then lay the string against their ruler to find the circumference.

• "Growth Tracker": Pick a specific plant (like a wildflower or a small sapling) and mark it with a small flag or stick. Have the students measure it once a week to track how much it grows over the course of the season.

• "Shadow Measurement": Trace the shadow of a stick at different times of the day (morning, noon, and afternoon). Measure how the length changes as the sun moves across the sky.

⚠🔬Pro-Tip for Success: Remind them that in the world of science, accuracy matters. If they are measuring a bug, they should measure from the "head" to the "tail" consistently every time so they can compare their data with their friends' findings later!

Omschool Tips for Your "Nature Detective" Kits

• Durability: Since you are doing this outside, print your rulers on card stock then laminate them (or using clear packing tape over the paper) to make them moisture-resistant. 

• The "Transparency" Hack: If you have access to a printer that can handle clear sheets, print the rulers onto overhead transparencies. This is a favorite among teachers because it makes it much easier to measure "odd" or squishy things like leaves or flowers without damaging them!

• Calibration Check: Before heading out on the trail, have the students perform a "quality control" check. Use a standard credit card or a known object to verify that everyone's ruler was printed at 100% scale.

  Nature Detective Field Report

  Case #: ________ Date: ________ Location: ________

  • Evidence Description: (What is it? What does it look like?)

    ---

  • Sensory Observations:

    • Sight: ___________________________________________

    • Touch: ___________________________________________

    • Smell: ___________________________________________

  • Measurement Data:

    • Length: ________ cm / in

    • Width: ________ cm / in

  • Sketch (Use the space below): (Encourage them to draw their findings to scale)

 For more awesome hands-on lessons and science activities visit my blogs DIY Homeschool Free Lesson Plans 4U and Free Printable Lesson Plans