Day Hiking Trails: Great hiking activity for kids: Sound Map

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Great hiking activity for kids: Sound Map

"I think the songbird is up there."

Generally, exploring and discovery is enough for kids, but sometimes even they can grow bored with that and become restless. Remember that they naturally have shorter attention spans than adults.

Fortunately, there are lots of tried and true activities you can do on the trail that’ll keep kids from getting bored. Among them is Sound Map.

During a rest stop, have children close their eyes and listen to sounds. Using whatever symbols they like for each sound heard, they then create a map of where those noises are located. After they open their eyes, have them listen for the sounds again. Is the map more “accurate” with their eyes open or shut?

Materials: Paper, pencil.

Ages: 10 and up.

Learn about more than a hundred other hiking diversions for kids in Hikes with Tykes: Games and Activities.

Meet the Author

My name is Rob Bignell. I'm a long-time hiker, journalist and editor. My son Kieran and I have been hiking together for the past decade. Before Kieran, I taught middle school students in New Mexico and Wisconsin, served as an infantryman in the Army National Guard, and worked in newspapers. I've won several journalism awards, from editorial writing to sports reporting. In 2001, The Prescott Journal, which I served as managing editor of, was named Wisconsin’s Weekly Newspaper of the Year. Currently I own and operate an online editing business, Inventing Reality Editing Service. After spending several years in Southern California, my son and I now live in Wisconsin on the scenic Red Cedar River.