Nature Cat’s Great Outdoors is a free app from PBS Kids. The app, available for iOS and Android, provides students with activities they can do outdoors in all kinds of weather. And there some indoor activities for those days when you really don’t want to go outdoors.

To use the Nature Cat’s Great Outdoors app students simply open it, press play, and select a “daily nature adventure.” There are adventures for sunny days, rainy days, and snowy days. An example of a rainy day adventure is recording the sounds of rain drops and the sounds of splashing in puddles. The app has more than 100 adventure suggestions built into it. Students earn digital badges for completing adventures.

Nature Cat’s Great Outdoors has a journal component that students can use to record observations and ideas. The journal lets students save audio recordings, type notes, and draw. Students can record and write on blank journal pages or respond to one of the prompts included in the journals.

Applications for Education
I love apps like Nature Cat’s Great Outdoors because they have activities that appeal to students while also encouraging outdoor learning. Many of the activities in Nature Cat’s Great Outdoors are excellent starters for elementary school science lessons.