Scavenger Hunt Nest

Here’s a little activity to get your child or class to think like a bird and gather items to make a two-dimensional nest.

Materials

• clean egg carton
• glue
• scissors
• Activity Label template
• Items to look for template  Scavenger_Hunt_nest
  
• plastic lid
• Craft items (e.g., felt, feathers, markers, paint or foam etc.) to make your bird
• Background (we used a canvas, but cardstock or another thick paper would work)

Directions

• Using a clean egg carton, glue the Activity Label template onto the top of the closed carton and allow it to dry.  We used a cardboard egg carton for the label to adhere more easily.

•  Glue the suggested guide (Items to Look For template) on the inside of the lid to give you inspiration for items to find for building your nest.  In the blank squares of the grid, add your own ideas.

• Go outside together and see what you can find, thinking like a bird.  You may wish to combine found items with those purchased at a craft store (raffia,yarn, craft sand etc.) to enhance your nest depending on your collection.

•  Using the materials you have collected, create your own nest. We did this by gluing the items in a circular formation on a plastic lid (so it wouldn’t adhere to another surface) and then once it was dry placing several books on top to flatten it a bit.

• We painted a canvas background (using a bit of blue and white paint and a facial tissue) and allowed it to dry.

• We then added a found branch for the nest to perch on and created a painted bird, gluing this all down with our nest.  (We had to use a glue gun, but you may find this is not the case.)

• If your child needs a prompt to get started in making the bird, ask: “What kind of bird do you imagine would live in the nest you made?”. Or if you pretended to be a bird while you collected the materials, “What kind of bird were you?”.  We were a “firebird”!

Purpose

• Exploration of the outdoors/engagement with environment
• To develop an understanding of materials that birds might possibly use to make their nest.
• Children/ Students might also engage in the use of resources such as books to investigate further what birds use to create their homes- does it differ according to region?  Urban or rural settings?
• Fine motor development (cutting, gluing, assembling)

Safety Notes

• Be sure to go outside with adult supervision
• Glue guns should be used by an adult only.