Our family has been to the Austin Nature and Science Center more times than I can count. I think we’re pretty lucky here in Austin to have a fantastic free place where kids can play, learn, and explore inside and out. I wanted to come up with another excuse to take my kids there, so I made this printable game of Nature Bingo to take along with us and play while we were at the Center. It worked great with my kids, so I thought I would share it!
Here are some directions and tips on how to play:
- There are five unique cards, so you can play with up to five players (or play multiple games).
- Use a pen to cross off each item as you find it, or if you have round, price stickers, we found that those worked really well for marking the squares. (I held the stickers, and the kids asked me for them as needed.)
- We played that the first person to get three in a row was the first winner, and the second winner was the one to fill their whole card.
- There are multiple ways to find many of the objects. For example, you can find a turtle shell in the Trade Counter indoors, or you could spot a shell on a live turtle in the pond.
- This game would probably work best with kids age 4-9.
- If your children haven’t yet been to the Nature and Science Center, I recommend visiting a few times before trying the game. If the place is new for them they will want some time to just play and explore. Plus, I think it’s a little less overwhelming when kids already have an idea of some of the places they might look for the things on their sheet.
- I tried to pick objects that will be at the Center no matter the season, so you can play all year.
- Have fun!
Admission to the Austin Nature and Science Center is free. To read more about visiting the Center with kids, head over here.
Austin Nature and Science Center
301 Nature Center Dr
Austin, TX 78746
Katey writes about activities for families and children at Having Fun at Home. You may also enjoy posts Katey has written about exploring the Bee Cave Sculpture Park, Barton Creek Greenbelt, Longview Park, Austin’s Superlative Landmarks, the Elisabet Ney Museum, and Oakwood Cemetery. She has also written about taking kids to explore fun Austin stores like Callahan’s, The Natural Gardener, and Nature’s Treasures.
