Rainy day fun: rain-inspired activities - summer camp activities

Camping Magazine, May-June, 1999 by Annie Moretz Stanger

Rain doesn't have to be an unwelcome guest at your camp. It can be an inspiration for camp activities. Rainy days offer an opportunity to teach campers more about weather and for them to see firsthand how rain affects plants, animals, and the environment.

Though you may be undaunted, you should not be oblivious to the weather conditions. Staff training should include sessions on recognizing storm conditions, reviewing emergency plans, and planning all-camp program alternatives. Remember never to go outdoors during a severe thunderstorm or when there is lightning.

Rainy Day Activities

With a little ingenuity, you can plan activities around a rain theme. For example, using the following questions, have campers develop ideas for activities:

* What do you know about rain? About weather generally? What else would you like to know? How can we find out?

* Name some things you can do with/in a puddle.

* Where does the drinking water we use in camp come from? How is it purified? Where does our waste water go? What would we have to do to find out?

* What are some things we could make inside today that we might use outside in the sunshine tomorrow?

* Is there something that needs cleaning that the rain might help us wash? Can we conduct the activity suggested with out damaging the earth?

* What wildlife would we be more likely to see on a rainy day than on a sunny day? What might those animals be doing right now?

* If at this moment we were backpacking, how would we likely spend our rainy day? What could we have packed or could we be creating that might be making our trip more bearable?

Following are some ideas for other rain-inspired activities that campers might enjoy.

Ducks Play Outside on Rainy Days, Why Not Me

A rainy-day hike in the woods can give campers ages five to seven a new look at the environment. Before setting out on the hike, ask campers to demonstrate the appropriate dress for rainy weather. Have a bag filled with various things, such as suntan lotion, sunglasses, swim mask, fins, and snorkel, umbrella, waders, rain boots with tread for safe hiking, rain poncho or coat, and a first-aid kit. As campers pull items from the bag, ask them to tell you why some are appropriate and others are not. For example, an umbrella is not much good on a hike in the woods because you need both hands to climb and also the umbrella might get stuck in the branches and hurt someone or significantly slow you down. You might also show campers how to protect their boots so their feet stay dry.

Observing the differences

When campers are dressed for the hike, divide them into small groups and give each group a plastic bag with a small notebook and pen. Tell them that the purpose of the hike is to look for things that look, feel, sound, or smell differently in the rain. Ask them to write down things they see along the way in their notebook or to make sketches of what they see. Also, remind them to check changes in the condition of the sky.

When you return from the hike, have towels ready for campers to dry off. If it is a cool day, you might plan a warm shower or build a fire in a shelter or building where the group can dry off and warm up. Then have campers share their observations. Can they imitate the sound of the rain, make up their own rain dance, or draw a picture of how rain makes them feel? Follow up by reading a book with a rain theme, such as A Rainy Day by Sandra Markle or Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett.

Water, Water Everywhere, but Not Much to Drink

Campers ages eight to ten may be interested in learning how the earth's water supply is distributed. You need eleven empty gallon milk jugs, an eyedropper, and a measuring cup. Display ten of the milk jugs. Fill only the remaining jug with water and set it aside.

Tell campers that the ten gallon jugs represent all of the water on earth. Then ask them where they think that water is located. After some discussion and with your help, campers should determine that nine-and-a-half gallons are located in the world's oceans. This water is valuable for sea life, but not available for use in homes. That leaves only one-half gallon of water for human consumption.

Pour one-half gallon of water from the full jug into the last empty jug in the display line. Hold up this jug and ask campers where they think most of this remaining water is located. This question is more difficult, but they will probably come up with the correct answer, the ice caps. This water is not readily available to humans either.

Only a small portion is available

Pour one cup of water from the remaining one-half gallon into the measuring cup and set it in front of the display jugs. Tell them that the cup represents the water that is left. It must be shared between all the humans, animals, and plants on earth. Ask them where they think this water is located. The correct answers are lakes, rivers, ponds, creeks, and ground water.

Then take the eyedropper and fill it from the cup of water. Tell them that ten drops of water represents the clean water left on earth. The remaining water in the cup is busy circulating in the water cycle, being purified for later use. All of the fresh water, except the ten drops extracted by the eyedropper must be cleaned before we can use it. Tell them that having enough clean water for a growing population is one of our country's greatest concerns.