What's happening for kids?

There are lots of fun events happening every week in Minnesota's state parks, and most of them are perfect for kids! Find an event here.

Build an animal avatar like this one!Get Out Minnesota Website for Kids

Create an account and start earning points by playing games on the site! You'll find out what some animals like to eat, learn how to take pictures of nature, and create an animal avatar that's part kid and part animal — and there are videos and lots of other fun stuff, too!

Visit a Minnesota state park or state trail to collect the secret code words, and then plug them into your account to earn even MORE points. When you get 500 points, you can print a certificate that you can trade for a prize at one of 44 state parks.

Start playing here!

Patches you can collect through the Junior Park Naturalist program: prairie, hardwoods and pinelands naturalist.Junior Park Naturalist

Earn patches and certificates while you learn neat things about the plants and birds and bugs and other critters around you!

There are three free activity booklets you can pick up at any Minnesota state park office or visitor center. Fill them out — and when you finish, you'll be a Junior Park Naturalist!

Teachers, educators, group leaders, and home schoolers, you can now download the activity booklets from our website.

Picture of the patch you can earn for completing the Minnesota State Parks History Explorer programPark Explorer

Are you already a Junior Park Naturalist? Good for you! The next adventure is to expand your nature knowledge and become a State Park Explorer.

There are three programs: Nature Explorer, History Explorer, and Earth Explorer. You'll earn points for completing fun and exciting projects and activities — just bring your completed activity books to any state park to receive your official Explorer patch.

Park Explorer activity books are available for sale at Minnesota State Park Nature Stores and selected park offices.

Project Learning Tree

The folks at Project Learning Tree have put together a collection of fun family activities to use while you're taking walks through your neighborhood, at the cabin or on a camping trip.

There are puzzles and games to play, and you'll learn some neat things you probably never knew about the forest and trees around you. (Like what's a tree cookie? And what kinds of amazing things live in old logs?)