Outdoor Learning and STEM  

Group Games

Some group games may not strictly some under the 'STEM' banner, but they are crucial for the development of many social skills that children need. Games, as a 'type of play,' (see link in the menu above) encourage and promote turn taking, sharing, collaboration and problem solving. They also learn when and how to assert themselves, and when to take a step back, and the benefits to their physical development can include improved balance, fine and gross motor skills and overall fitness and strength. To see examples of group 'team building' games, click the image.

Group games

Treasure Hunt

Children love a treasure hunt. Treasure hunts could be developed on a theme, and can be as easy or as complex as you like, however, of course, the age of the children will probably de a deciding factor in how complicated you make the hunt. For older groups, you can design the treasure hunt to cover a wider area, and can start to involve IT or some other form of technology to make the hunt more challenging. For some more ideas on this see 'Geocaching' below.

Hide and Seek

Again, hide and seek can be developed on a theme ... the children can only hide behind trees, or behind specific species of tree, or the children can only travel a certain number of steps from their start point. Maybe the children might be 'immune' from capture if, when 'caught' they are holding a particular item like a pebble or a pine cone. These small additions to the game mean that the games incorporates some elements of stem.

Unicef Kid Power

Click the image above (wee boy in the woods) to open a web page from Unicef listing a number of simple group games that are sure to get children having fun !

Geocaching

A Global Treasure Hunt !

Geocaching is a form of treasure hunting that millions of people are doing all around the world. Click the image to find out what geocaching is, and how to get involved. To take part in this global treasure hunt, download the (free) Geocaching app, and join in with the fun !!!

What 3 Words

Where are YOU right now ?

What 3 Words is a fantastic concept, beautifully executed. The video (click the image of planet earth) explains it really well. It's worth pointing out that the emergency services are also now using What 3 Words as a means of locating people, so its a handy app to have on your phone !

Points to ponder ...

Are there any dangers or risks might you need to take into consideration when developing the session plan for this activity and will therefore need to include in a risk assessment ?
Is it safe to have children wandering about using tech to navigate by? What are the dangers, if any?
Once you have identified if there ARE risks, what steps can be taken to minimise the risks as much as is reasonably practicable?
Remember ... we don't want to introduce so many safety measures that we prevent the activity from providing the learning opportunities that it does, but we need to make sure we reduce risks so that the activity can take place as safely as possible.



How does this activity relate to S.T.E.M ?

Science
  • Geo-stationary satellites
  • Global Positioning System (GPS)
Technology
  • Geocaching App
  • Using a Tablet
  • Hot-spotting from mobile phone
Maths
  • Dividing (large group into smaller teams)
  • Counting (steps in the hide and seeks game)