We developed an awesome local adventure calendar in conjunction with our partners at the Child Development Council, to get you outside!

A PDF document containing the calendar and activities opens in a new tab, download here.

Adventure December!

Grab your mask and get outside! Thirty-one days of local, family-friendly outdoor adventure for all ages.

1. Make a journey stick or bracelet to collect a journey.
2. Collect rocks for sorting, painting, and skipping.
3. Make ephemeral art with natural materials.
4. Go bird sighting or make a pine cone bird feeder.
5. Make a color wheel collection with hues of brown, orange, yellow.
6. Build a fairy house.
7. Build a fort or shelter.
8. Build a bonfire and roast food. No fire pit? Make one in a can!
9. Make a nature mandala.
10. Go animal tracking.
11. Do a nature scavenger hunt.
12. Go dung hunting. Look for signs of animals by looking for their scat.
13. Count nests in trees.
14. Make wreaths using dried plants.
15. Do a neighborhood clean-up.
16. Take a pre-dawn walk around your block.
17. Make bark rubbings.
18. Make a nature loom for nature weaving.
19. Pretend cook with mud or snow.
20. Do a five senses hunt.
21. Arrange plants in a tray and add water. Freeze for beautiful ice art.
22. Go on a night lantern walk.
23. Make tracks in the dirt or snow for toy trucks and cars.
24. Help a neighbor. Shovel snow on a path or driveway.
25. Go sledding. You can use a piece of cardboard, laundry bin, or plastic lid.
26. Blow bubbles outside. See if they freeze.
27. Build a snow person.
28. Explore a local wetland.
29. Count the stars.
30. Play tic-tac-toe with sticks, rocks, and pine cones.
31. Make a snow shelter.

Adventure December: 31 days of local field trips

1. Sagan Planet Walk
2. Cornell Lab of Ornithology
3. Cayuga Nature Center or TreeTops
4. Sapsucker Woods
5. Taughannock State Park
6. Upper Treman State Park
7. Cornell Botanic Gardens
8. Ithaca Farmers Market
9. Bird Sanctuary at Stewart Park
10. Six Mile Creek Natural Area
11. Ithaca Falls
12. Cascadilla Creek
13. Cass Park
14. Indian Creek Farm playground
15. Cayuga Waterfront Trail
16. Tutelo Park and trail
17. Black Diamond Trail
18. Ithaca Children’s Garden
19. Lime Hollow
20. Fillmore Glen State Park
21. Dryden Lake
22. East Shore Park
23. Myers Park
24. Mulholland Wildflower Preserve
25. Chimney Bluffs State Park
26. Ludlowville Park
27. Buttermilk Falls State Park
28. Lick Brook
29. Watkins Glen State Park
30. East Hill Recreation Way
31. Cass Park Ice Rink