Stacy Tornio - The Ultimate Book of Scavenger Hunts: 42 Outdoor Adventures to Conquer with Your Family

Stacy Tornio is the author of more than fifteen books for families and kids, including a book with her son, Jack, 101 Outdoor Adventures to Have Before You Grow Up (FalconGuides). This book was a recipient of a National Outdoor Book Award in 2019. Shes also written books on gardening, animals, the national parks, and several titles for the National Wildlife Federations Ranger Rick brand.

Stacy runs the website DestinationNature.com, which has free printables and resources for kids and parents. She is also the director of content for the nonprofit Let Grow. Let Grow promotes childhood independence and believes its a critical part of growing up.

Stacy lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with her two kids, and theyve done a lot of scavenger hunts over the years.

Do you love animals? There are so many great animals to see in the world around us, so this chapter is filled with scavenger hunts just for that. Many of the hunts will have you going to specific or special places to get all the items listed, so get ready for many great adventures with your family. Dont get discouraged if you dont cross off all the items on each hunt in one trip. Its just a reason to go back again, and again, and again. You might even want to do many of these scavenger hunts more than once!

It can be challenging to see fish, dolphins, and other sea creatures up close, but not when you go to an aquarium! You can find aquariums both big and small all around the country, giving you the chance to look at some of those magical and mysterious animals for yourself. Take this scavenger hunt along with you, and see how many points you can rack up in a day.

NUMBER OF ITEMS: 12

TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE: 24

2 points

Heres a fun fact about jellyfishthey do not have a brain These squishy sea creatures float around the water, looking for food. You probably wont see them eat, though. The mouth of a jellyfish is directly under its dome-shaped body. So it has to float over the food to eat it.

1 point

A male crab is called a Jimmy and female crab is called a Sally. The local aquarium staff can probably help you learn how to tell a male from a female, but it has to do with the underside. When you see a crab in an aquarium, watch closely and you might notice that its walking sideways. They really do go sidewaystheyll even swim this way too.

2 points

While youre at the aquarium, challenge yourself to learn about the sea or oceanthere will be plenty of photos and fact displays around. You might even be lucky enough to visit an aquarium located near an ocean, where you might be able to see the waters from the inside. Look for signs that help you better understand these great waters and what kinds of animals you can find there. Then use the blank section at the end of this chapter to write down some of the cool facts you read.

2 points

You wont find any bones in sharks. Some people think their fins are bones, but they arenttheyre actually a type of cartilage. Dont make the mistake of thinking sharks are dangerous; most are not. Also, many arent very big either. Some are just a few feet long and look more like a regular fish than what most people think of when they hear theyre going to see a shark.

2 points

There are more than 250 types of octopus, and they can range quite a bit in size. In fact, the largest species, the giant Pacific, grows to be more than 9 feet long and 600 pounds! Count all eight tentacles on the octopus when you see it in the aquarium, and then watch how it uses them. Its pretty amazing to watch them in action.

3 points

One of the coolest things about seahorses is that the males have a little pouch in their belly where the females place the eggs. Then the male seahorse carries them there until its time for the young to hatch. This is unique in the animal world. Another fun fact is that seahorses eat all the time and might consume more than 3,000 shrimp in a day.

2 points

Watch a stingray swim through the water and youll see that they move very gracefully and gently. Its almost as if they are gliding through the water, which is a good thing because it helps them sneak up on their prey. If youre looking for a stingray at an aquarium, look low. Most of the time, stingrays like hanging along the bottom of the water.

2 points

There are seven different sea turtle species; sadly, most of them are on the endangered species list. These great turtles spend most of their time in the sea and then come to land to lay their eggs. These are some seriously old creaturesabout 110 million yearsthat have been around since the dinosaurs. Learn about them at the aquarium and how you can help protect them. Being responsible on the beach and picking up after yourself are a start.

1 point

Have you ever heard that starfish can regrow parts of their body? Its true! If they lose an arm, they can slowly regrow it over time. This is another animal with a lot of different types. There are more than 2,000 species of starfish in the world, and not all of them have five arms. Ask the aquarium workers how many different starfish are in their aquarium.

3 points

Its so much fun to see a real Nemo (clown fish) in person. You might think theres just one kind of clown fish, but there are actually more than thirty types. And not all are orange. A cool fact about these fish is that all are born as males, but some switch to become females as they get older. Yes, really!