Things to do Outside

Our newest exhibit Inking the Bond: Memorial Tattoos is available as an outdoor exhibit and self-guided walking tour. Check it out here.

See the Post-Part installation in the Schneider Haus passageway. Details here.

Colour Walk - Set aside some time and go on a colour walk adventure! Pick a colour to look for and follow its direction. Switch from colour to colour until your walk is complete! Download colour walk sheet here.

Getting outdoors with your Dad is the best, from hikes to bike rides it's never a dull moment with Dad around! If you're looking for a fun game to incorporate into your outdoor time with Dad we recommend the game Count Off! Before you leave on your outdoor adventure have your dad pick something to keep an eye out for, it could be a type of tree, a certain colour of car or even his favorite type of bird! Once you have your object, keep your eyes peeled and try to count off as many of that object as you can. You can either collaborate or make it a competition between you and your Dad to see who spots the most of his chosen object! 

Get outside and see how many of these things you can find! First one to get a line yells BINGO! Bingo sheet

Pollinators are an important part of our ecosystem, pollinating flowers and food so that plants produce colourful flowers or delicious fruits and vegetables. Bee’s are the largest group of pollinators we have in Ontario. The bee population has begun declining because of habitat loss, pesticides, climate change and disease. This means that it’s important that people do what they can in their gardens to help save the pollinators. Did you know that the Region of Waterloo has been designated the first Bee Region in Canada by Bee City Canada? This means that our community is actively working to protect pollinators within our community! One way to help save the bees is by supplying them with a watering station! 

All you will need is: 

• A shallow tray (we recommend upcycling an old pie plate or terracotta flower pot base) 

• Small stones of varying sizes 

• Water 

To create your bee watering station you first want to find a spot outside where you observe bees. The best place is in a garden with lots of bee friendly flowers. Bee’s love native wildflowers but they also love flowers like hyacinth, snapdragons, crocus, and borage! Once you have found a bee friendly place for your station, make sure the soil is level, you don’t want water spilling out of your tray! Next, fill your tray with small stones, you want the stones to be large enough that they are not submerged in water but small enough that when a bee sits on the top of it they can still reach the water below. We recommend rocks that are about as tall as the sides of your tray. Finally add water to your tray, making sure that the water is close to the top of the stones but not completely covering them. Be sure to check back often and refill the water when it starts to get low! Want to help diversify your garden to help the pollinators? Check out our Wildflower Seed Bomb activity! 

• Learn how to make DIY Biodegradable Newspaper Planters for starting your seedlings. Instructions here.