If you’ve been outside lately, you’ve probably noticed that there are sticks and twigs everywhere. There are many fun things you can do with sticks if you just use your imagination!

  • Turn a blank canvas into an outdoor masterpiece by using a stick to draw pictures or write messages in sand, dirt, or mud.
  •  Find a few sticks and pretend to be your favorite animal- perhaps they become the antlers of a deer, or the antennae of a butterfly fluttering by. Act out other animals and their movements in a game of stick charades!
  • Hocus pocus, turn your stick into a magic wand to cast spells or turn people into statues! Use another stick to stir your magic potions, or make a broomstick by gathering a bunch of small, thin twigs and tying them to a larger, straight stick.
  • Find a stump and use your drumsticks to beat out a rhythm. Rocks and other natural items can be musical instruments too! Before you know it you may have your own rock band!
  •  Play tic-tac-toe by making a stick grid and using other natural items, like rocks, leaves or pine cones as the x’s and o’s.
  • See how high you can build a twig tower, by layering them on top of each other (like Jenga). For more of a challenge, try to build a miniature log cabin.
  • Construct a fort out of bigger sticks and branches, or a teeny tiny den as a bug shelter.
  • Play a game of Pooh sticks from a bridge over a stream. Figure out which way the water is flowing, and first stick under the bridge wins!
  • Go on a stick scavenger hunt to see how many different sticks you can find (short or long, thick or thin, smooth or rough, straight or bent, leafy or thorny). Maybe you can even find a few sticks in the shape of a letter from the alphabet!
  • You can even get crafty and make a wind chime or nature mobile using sticks and other natural objects you can find! 

The Minnesota Zoo would love to see examples of how you used this activity at home! Please share pictures or comments via email at [email protected], and take less than 5 minutes of time to provide us feedback by completing this short survey.