NCM Offers Tips to Beat Winter Boredom

NATIONAL CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OFFERS TIPS TO BEAT WINTER BOREDOM

Museum experts provide families with fun and educational ideas and activities to cure

the cold-weather blues

WASHINGTON, DC (October 16, 2008) – The National Children’s Museum, scheduled to open in 2012 at National Harbor in the Washington, DC region, is offering families tips on how to enjoy the long winter days and beat indoor boredom. The Museum encourages caregivers to use the change in season as an opportunity to explore different fun and educational activities, both indoors and out, to encourage an appreciation of nature in children.

“The winter months find most families inside, reading books, playing games, and finding ways to keep boredom at bay,” said Linda Coulombe, Manager of Science Programs, National Children’s Museum. “But most pediatricians and experienced outdoor enthusiasts say that with a few precautions, a sense of fun, and a healthy respect for your children’s limitations, families can and should enjoy winter days by exploring the outdoors, in addition to trying new indoor activities.”

With the hustle and bustle of playgrounds and swimming pools a distant memory, winter is a great time to get kids to slow down and focus more on nature. It may be cold, but that’s no excuse not to get outside and explore for a bit. Winter is an important time in the year’s cycle – almost anywhere where you live – as the earth rests before regenerating and growing again.

The National Children’s Museum has compiled the following tips to get kids outside during the winter months to connect with the natural world:

1. Get Outside and Take a Hike

After a nice warm meal, head out into your own back yard or neighborhood park and take a short hike. With no flowers or inviting swing sets, the world outside might seem barren, until kids really focus on it. Encourage your child to take a closer look at her surroundings, and she will see all kinds of interesting things she might not notice when the weather is warm: the skeletal shapes of trees, patterns of animal tracks in the snow, and squirrel nests, all while getting some exercise too.

2. Create a Nature Journal

Encourage your son or daughter to keep a nature journal where they can record their findings of the great outdoors. Nature logs teach kids to be interested and engaged in the natural world, which will plant the seeds for them to one day become careful stewards of the environment. Have your child draw something he saw on your nature hike or write a brief description of it in his journal. For young children, bring a camera and take photos of what you discover on your walk, and when you get home, have them dictate their observations to you as you record them in a shared journal. Do this throughout each season of the year so kids can observe their ever-changing environment.

3. Make Outdoor Time More Fun

After you’ve taken a few outdoor hikes together, work with your child to develop some goals for what you hope to see or do on a given walk to encourage him to fully engage in his experience:

· Listen for the sounds of winter – What do you hear? What noises could they be? Squirrels chattering? Birds calling? How are these sounds different from the sounds of summer?

· Observe winter birds – What are they doing? What are they eating? What noises are they making? Stay quiet for five minutes as you listen and watch their behavior.

· Go out for a walk after a snowfall – Look for animal tracks and follow where they lead. Take a picture of them or have your child draw them. It’s not important to know which animal made them; you can always look that up together when you return inside!

· Have a winter treasure hunt – Create a list of things in nature your child might observe while she is outdoors, such as a dried leaf, an acorn or nut, or an interesting rock or bird, and mark them down in a special “treasure hunt” section of your family’s nature journal. Have your daughter hunt for these special treasures and check off her findings on your next hike.

4. Enjoy Simple Indoor Nature Activities

Some days are too harsh to be outdoors, so be sure to try a few indoor nature activities as well:

· Make a pine cone bird feeder – Roll a pine cone in peanut butter and sesame seeds and hang it outside for bird feed.

· Make your own “Animal Tracks Field Guide” – Buy a few animal track stamps of the animals close to your home and have your child create her own “tracks” field guide. Have her stamp the tracks on a piece of card stock and label them. Laminate it and take it with you on your next nature walk.

· Make a shell treasure box – Have your child use some of the small shells she collected at the beach over the summer to make her own treasure box. Take a small plastic container with a lid and ask her to arrange the shells in a pattern in the box. Use a hot glue gun to attach the shells and use ribbon to decorate it.

For more information about the National Children’s Museum, visit www.ncm.museum.

About the National Children’s Museum

Scheduled to open in 2013, the National Children’s Museum (NCM) will be a world-class cultural and educational center dedicated to engaging children and empowering them to make a difference. The mission of NCM is to inspire children to care about and improve the world. Through its interactive exhibits, online community, and unique national programs and partnerships, NCM is transforming the concept of a traditional museum by becoming a catalyst and forum for a national movement to inspire and empower kids to speak up, take action, and get engaged in their communities. Through 2013, NCM is operating as a Museum Without Walls, participating in a variety of community events and working with other arts and cultural organizations to develop creative partnerships that benefit kids and families.

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