Taking time to observe the world around us is an important skill for everyone. Use this free 5 Senses Scavenger Hunt to take a closer look on your next outdoor adventure.

Head outside with this printable activity and use your senses to see, smell, listen and feel. You can even take time to find something that could be food for anther animal.

Sometimes when I head outside with my kids, or my students at school, we simply are wanting fresh air and sunshine. Other times we make our time outside more structured and focused. This free scavenger hunt is a great way to think about how active each of our senses are when we are outside.

So print the free hunt, grab some markers to check off when you find everything and head outside for this exciting learning adventure for kids of all ages.

For more scavenger hunt ideas, make sure to check out, 37 Best Free Printable Scavenger Hunt Ideas or another Free Printable Scavenger Hunt that mixes in some math and number skills.

Free 5 Senses Scavenger Hunt Materials

My kids loved this scavenger hunt so much that I printed copies for my students and laminated them so that I could use them over and over again.

I printed a page for each child and attached it to a clipboard. You can then give each child a marker or dry erase marker if you laminate the page.

Once you have your materials, take time to go over each of the senses with the children. Discuss that you use your eyes to see, nose to smell, fingers to touch, ears to hear and mouth to taste. It is also important to talk about how children will not, and should never, use their sense of taste during a scavenger hunt.

One item to find states, “Find something an animal would eat”. This could include something like an acorn, berry or even insects. Make sure children know not to taste or eat anything they find.

Another idea to add to your hunt is to give children magnifying glasses. It’s a great way to encourage children to take time in one spot and observe everything, big and small, around them.

It also encourages them to look for tiny creatures and things that they would not notice when they simply walk past. Magnifying glasses make a great hands-on learning experience.

Free 5 Sense Outdoor Scavenger Hunt

Once you have everything ready for your hunt, head outside to begin! Taking time to focus on the senses and talking about them before completing the hunt is a great learning opportunity for children.

5 Senses – Hear

Another great strategy you can use with the hunt is to find a place for your group to stop and sit. In this spot have children close their eyes and really focus on what they can hear. What loud sounds are there, and what sounds can they hear fainty behind the quiet sounds? Can you hear birds or maybe water running nearby?

5 Senses – Touch

After focusing on what you can be heard, find things around you to feel. Do you feel anything hard, soft, wet, spiky? If there anything you touched that you were surprised by the way it feels?

Free 5 Senses Scavenger Hunt – Smell

Next, close your eyes again and focus on your breathing and what you smell. What smells are there outside? Are they different smells then when you are inside?

What do You See?

It’s easy to describe what we see when we are outside or walking through nature. We see lots of green, trees and maybe sand or dirt, but when going on a scavenger hunt, you look closer and you look for different things. Look beyond the trees for something red or hear shaped.

The hunt is a great way to get children to see more then they usual notice.

Free 5 Senses Scavenger Hunt

There are some fun things for kids to find on the scavenger hunt, including finding something moving! This can be something simple like a bird, or something creepy crawly!

There are no wrong answers as long as the item children find fits with the sense. Children may find things that they like the smell of when they find flowers, or even leaves or grass. Other children may like the smell of a pond near by. As long as they are using their senses, then they are doing the hunt properly.

You can either search for items one at a time together as a group, or let children find each item independently. This works best with older children.

Remind children to respect nature and not pull flowers or disrupt any living things.

I hope that your children find lots of exciting new things as you do the scavenger hunt! You can do the activity over and over again and find new things for each checkbox every time! Happy hunting!

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