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Activities›Outdoor Learning›Outdoor STEM Challenge Cards
Outdoor STEM Challenge Cards, Outdoor Learning activity guide cover
Outdoor Learning

Outdoor STEM Challenge Cards

20 outdoor STEM challenges that use the natural world as a laboratory. Build a bridge from sticks. Design a waterproof shelter. Measure tree heights using shadows. Engineer a boat that floats. Each challenge is a hands-on engineering adventure using only what you find outside.

Want to read how it goes first? 15 Outdoor STEM Challenges That Don’t Feel Like School

Ages 6–14 · Card guide · 3 skill levels

STEMEngineeringScienceProblem-SolvingNature

What's inside.

  • ✓20 outdoor STEM challenge cards
  • ✓

What they are actually learning.

Twenty build-and-test challenges outdoors, using sticks, rocks and whatever else is on the ground. Plan, build, test, improve. Change one thing and test again, which is exactly how engineers work and nothing like how building usually gets taught.

  • STEM: The full engineering loop: plan, build, test, then change one thing and retest
  • Engineering: Bridges, shelters, boats, towers and structures that have to actually stand up
  • Science: Measurement, forces, materials and buoyancy learned by testing them
  • Problem-Solving: Working out why the first design failed and fixing that specific thing
  • Nature: Built entirely from fallen natural materials, then taken apart afterwards
Why it matters

The patch of grass behind the house is the most underrated educational space on the planet. These activities turn outside time into learning time without any kid noticing the difference.

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The thinking behind this activity.

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Nature-Based Learning: What It Is and How Families Do It

The backyard is the most underrated classroom on the planet. Here's how to use it.

Read the guide →
Nature & Outdoor STEM

15 Outdoor STEM Challenges That Don’t Feel Like School

A creek, a pile of sticks, and a challenge. That’s three hours of engineering no worksheet can match.

January 20, 2026Read article →
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15 Forest School Activities You Can Do Without Any Training

You do not need a certification to let your kid build a den out of sticks.

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  • ✓All 120+ activities (every category)
  • ✓3 levels per activity (ages 6 to 14)
  • ✓New activities every quarter
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Engineering: bridges, shelters, boats, towers, and structures
  • ✓Science: measurement, forces, materials, buoyancy
  • ✓Each challenge uses found natural materials only
  • ✓Includes testing criteria and reflection prompts
  • 🔒Members only$99/year
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    In the Membership · 14-day refund

    Designed by a teacher with 15 years of classroom experience, now homeschooling her own kids.

    Nature Choice Boards
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    Nature Choice Boards

    Pick-your-own nature activity boards.

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    April 3, 2026Read article →
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