Nature Study Backpacks + Tassie Nature Apps

Do you worry about your children spending too much time indoors? Here are some tools to help with that.  (Australian Curriculum, Science)

We keep our Nature Study backpacks permanently packed with the following:

• Magnifying glass (similar)
• Butterfly net
• Bug box (similar)
• Petri dishes 
• Plastic test tubes with stoppers (similar)
• Tweezers
• Bag for specimens
• Family Adventure Journals
• Camera
• Watercolour pencils
• Field guides
• Compass
• Drink bottles and raincoats

Of course you don't need all this stuff for a successful outing in nature, but it helps to ignite curiosity. You could also buy a ready-made nature backpack such as these ones here.

We love integrating technology into our Nature Studies, both as a means to record our finds and as a replacement for hard copy field guides.

Here are the Apps we use most for Nature Study in Tasmania:

Frog Log (Knocklofty is great for frogs)
Bird in the Hand
TASFieldGuide
Morcombe & Stewart Guide to Birds of Australia
TasFishGuide
Wildflowers

Finally, a resource for environmental education that I cannot recommend highly enough: Expedition Class!

What's in your backpack?  If you have any suggestions for Nature Study, please hit me up in the comments!

If you like Nature Study, you might also like our Printable Leaf Hunt, or check out what we're taking on a Worldschooling adventure for three months!