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Square Foot Outdoor STEM Project

BySarah McClelland Updated on

Is your backyard a jungle? We have a terrific way to explore nature in your backyard with the one-square-foot outdoor STEM project! This is a super easy-to-set-up nature science and STEM activity you can do in any season and for any setting.

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One Foot Square Project

MAKE SURE TO CHECK OUT: Awesome Outdoor Nature Science Activities for Kids

What you will find the most exciting about this outdoor STEM project is that you can try it in any season and at many different locations. It’s an easy outdoor activity to take with you, and you can make up your backyard jungle travel kit to keep in the car!

SUPPLIES USED

Grab this FREE Backyard Jungle Printable Pack to use with your junior scientist!

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  • String
  • Measuring Tape
  • Scissors
  • Magnifying Glass
  • Camera
  • Pencil
  • Notepad/paper

SQUARE FOOT OUTDOOR STEM PROJECT SET UP

This square-foot outdoor STEM project is a great activity for parents, teachers, or older kids to get involved with, too, especially if you need to supervise the use of scissors. Help your kids measure and cut the string needed to create your backyard jungle project.

Decide how you want to set it up, whether you want to simply place the string on the ground or try out some creative engineering!

Get down! It would be best to get down on your belly to see what’s down there. Grab a magnifying glass and check it all out. If necessary, push the grass aside to see what’s below the surface.

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OBSERVE AND RECORD DATA

Use our free printable sheets to record data, take notes, and draw pictures of everything you can see and find, from leaves to moss and grass to dirt and water. Take notes on the bugs, insects, or critters that might be crawling around, or note any footprints or droppings left behind.

Draw pictures of your area, document the weather conditions, time of day, season, or anything else that can help you learn more about your one square foot!

ENJOY  OUTDOOR STEM ANYWHERE!

You can set up a backyard jungle or one-square-foot outdoor STEM project on a nature hike, camping trip, at the beach, or in a jungle! Make a point to explore different outdoor locations.

Of course, it’s also fun to explore your backyard and learn more about what is living on the piece of land with you. You can try this for each season and note any differences or similarities. For a great experiment, you can set it up in the same spot each time.

Or you can pick different spots around the yard to see if there is anything different to find. Maybe you see a footprint in the mud and want to set up your nature science activity to include it!

MAKE SURE TO CHECK OUT: 31 DAYS OF OUTDOOR STEM IDEAS FOR KIDS

any of these nature activities can be re-done each season. It would be fun to compare your data from season to season!

Outdoor STEM Project

What is STEM? STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering, and math. A good STEM project will include at least two of the pillars of STEM. A STEM activity often contains a bit of all four pillars because they are all deeply intertwined. You can read more about STEM here.

  • SCIENCE: Explore the creatures, soil, water, and plants that may inhabit our one-square-foot piece of land.
  • TECHNOLOGY: Use a camera to take pictures of what we see, as it isn’t advisable to remove these items from their natural habitat to leave no trace. From our notes, pictures, and drawings, we might use the Internet to research these items to learn more about them.
  • ENGINEERING AND MATH: You must set it up the square before exploring your area! Measure one square foot of string using a measuring tape and some basic math skills. Teach your kids about measurements if needed. Once you have the string, lay it out to form a one-foot square, or get creative with popsicle sticks or dowels. You can even create a grid with multiple squares for comparison.

More Outdoor Activities For Kids

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Printable Nature Activities Pack

Take this nature pack outdoors for hands-on learning!

  • Nature theme writing prompts make for the start of a fantastic outdoor, nature journal.
  • Explore nature-themed STEM challenges that encourage your kiddos to use supplies found in nature and natural materials to complete.
  • Discover the birds in your backyard, and learn how to make different kinds of kid-friendly bird feeders.
  • Observe a favorite flower or leaf, and go on a scavenger hunt or two!
  • Discover how to set up a one-square-foot backyard jungle project.
  • Explore what it’s like to be a collector and set up your own collection.
  • Explore the senses outside
  • Simple leaf science activities with leaves including leaf rubbing, how do leaves breathe, and leaf drawing.
  • Start a seed jar and observe how a plant grows even under the ground!
  • Build an insect hotel for your garden using natural and found materials.

BONUS: Pinecone Pack included!

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4 Comments

  1. Pingback: Simple Ways To Take STEAM Outdoors This Summer

  2. I really appreciate with you. This can be a great bonding or partner activity for peers, siblings, parents, teachers, and care givers to do together. We can all learn something from someone else. Plus, it’s a great opportunity to work on teamwork. Me and my son enjoyed working together.Thanks for the sharing such a informative also useful article.

  3. Pingback: 20 Delightful and Enjoyable Outdoor Learning Ideas

  4. Have you read any of Donald Silver’s “One Small Square” habitat books? This reminds me of those. I think it was a slightly bigger square (3 feet maybe?) but I love how they get kids to really dig in and explore their world.

    Using string to mark it is a great idea.

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