Resource
IDEA SETResource
Indoor Family Fun
Indoor Family Fun
Get ideas for fun family activities you can do indoors.
Grades
3 - 12+
Subjects
Biology, Geography, Human Geography
Photo by the Detroit Publishing Company, courtesy Library of Congress
Get ideas for banishing those rainy day blues. Gather your family and get started on one of these cool projects.
Investigate How Microorganisms Affect Plant Growth
Take two soil samples from the same plot and bake one of the samples in the oven to destroy microorganisms. Label two pots and plant the same type of seeds in each soil sample. Make sure other conditions are the same and record the seeds' growth over time.
Plant Experiment
Grow two of the same plant in different pots. Use fertilizer and plant food for one plant. Compare the plants' growth. Make sure the sunlight and watering conditions are the same. Keep a journal to record the dates, sunlight, amount of fertilizer, and growth measurements.
Create a Recipe
Use locally grown foods. Try not to include anything that wasn't produced in your area. Try out the recipe. How does it taste? Write down the recipe, including information about how and where each product was grown.
Undergound Inquiry
What would you find if you dug under your family's home? Native American artifacts? Graves of 19th century settlers? The foundations for previous homes in your neighborhood? Sewer pipes and fiberoptic cables? Do some sleuthing in your city's government offices or archives to find out what's really down there.
Family Tree
Research your family tree and create a family flag that symbolizes past and present characteristics of your family.
Go on a Day Trip
Explore free events and local places, such as museums, zoos, libraries, community concerts, and agricultural fairs.
Inventory Your Family's Trash
Don't forget to wear gloves! Classify the trash by type, such as food, paper, or plastic. Make note of what could have been recycled or reduced somehow. Come up with suggestions to reduce your family’s trash production.
Map Your Products
Inventory your kitchen cupboards and note where each product was made. Use a blank outline map of the world to mark the country in which each product originated. Do most of your products come from one region of the world? If so, why do you think that is true? Which products came from farthest away?
Wildlife Migrations
Research the kinds of wildlife that migrate in your area. Map their migration paths.
Food Investigation
Get the recipe of your favorite family food and find out what herbs and spices it contains. On a map, find the countries that produce those herbs and spices. Do some investigating to find out more about these countries. What kind of climates do these places have? Could you grow the same spices where you live? Why or why not?
Check Labels
Check the labels of your clothing and your family members' clothing to see where it was made. Use a blank outline map of the world to mark the country in which each piece of clothing was made. Do most of your clothes come from one region of the world? If so, why do you think that is true? Which clothes came from farthest away? You can also do this investigation using the online Global Closet Calculator.
Make a Virtual Tornado
Peak tornado season in the United States occurs from March through May. Make a virtual tornado using the Forces of Nature interactive.
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Last Updated
May 20, 2022
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