Nature Lessons & Activities
Learn about animals (fauna) and plants (flora) you can find here in Fairfield County, Ohio! Is a plant native or non-native? Is it a desirable addition to the area or an unwanted invasive species? Is that night sound the hoot of an owl, the trill of a frog or toad, or a call of another creature active after dark?
Check out these elementary school lessons, videos, and activity sheets!
Camouflaged looper caterpillar on a grey coneflower.
Nature Activities
Astronomy
Click image to get a printable PDF
Get to Know the Sun & Earth’s Moon (Grades K-2)
This 10-page activity worksheet includes:
- Get to Know the Sun
- Solar Energy Experiment (solar energy absorption)
- Solar Oven S’mores
- Make Your Own Sundial (human sundial)
- Get to Know Earth’s Moon
- Moon Cycle
- The Fox in the Moon
- Draw the Moon
- Moon Diary
Click image to get a printable PDF
Astronomy: The Sun & Earth’s Moon (Grades 3-6)
This 18-page activity worksheet includes:
- Astronomy: The Sun
- Sun and the Seasons
- Solar Energy Experiment (solar energy absorption)
- Solar Oven S’mores
- Make Your Own Sundial (three types)
- Sundial Template
- Astronomy: Earth’s Moon
- Moon Cycle
- Moon Diary
- Moon Stories from Around the World
- The Fox in the Moon
- Draw the Moon & Write a Story
- Key Words
Fauna (Animals)
Click image to get a printable PDF
Halloween Creatures (Grades 3-6)
This 10-page activity worksheet includes:
- Animal Myths
- Mammal Skulls
- Ohio’s Common Spiders
- Spider Observation
- Ohio’s Common Snakes
- Cold-blooded or Warm-blooded
- Creatures of Indigenous Folklore
- Key Words
Classroom Activities
Fauna (Animals)
Lifecycle of the Monarch Butterfly (Grades K-2)
From egg to caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly, the Monarch butterfly’s life cycle is fascinating. Find out the only food this caterpillar will eat and how that food can save its life.
To complement this video, print a Get to Know the Monarch Butterfly worksheet from the Nature Connection page.
Nature Activity Sheets
Click the images below to get a printable PDF.
Get to Know Mambourg Park
Get to Know Spring Amphibians
Get to Know Owls of Ohio
Get to Know the Spotted Salamander
Get to Know the Dandelion
Get to Know the Red Fox
Get to Know Backyard Birds
Get to Know Spring Mushrooms
Get to Know Spring Wildflowers
Get to Know the Red-spotted Newt
Get to Know the Mayapple
Get to Know the Pileated Woodpecker
Get to Know Aquatic Insects
Get to Know Bird Nests
Get to Know Bird Migrants
Get to Know Common Snakes
Get to Know Ohio’s Common Moths
Get to Know the Monarch Butterfly
Get to Know Earth’s Moon
Get to Know Common Ohio Pollinators
Get to Know Common Mammal Skulls
Get to Know Ohio’s Common Spiders
Make a Pinecone Bird Feeder
What Can You Find on a Spring Hike?
What Can You Find on a Summer Hike?
Today I Found a Garter Snake
Today I Found Clay
Today I Found an Eastern Bluebird
Today I Found a Butterfly
Today I Found a Spiny Softshell Turtle
Every Day is Earth Day
