Here’s a great way to spice up frosty winter walks with kids: a game of winter walk bingo. Follow the steps below and your youngsters will love being outdoors trying to spot the wintry plants, animals and other things – we’ve included a variety so that whether your walk is in a town or the countryside, your children should be able to rack up a score.

How to play winter walk bingo

1. Gather at least two young ‘bingoers’ to play the game.

2. Print out as many bingo cards as you need. There are two bingo cards on each A4 sheet.

3. Set off on your walk.

4. The first player to spot one of the things on the card will get the points shown for that item. That player then ticks the box for that item. The other players should put a cross in the box for that item to remind them they don’t need to look for it again.

5. Tot up the points when you return home.

If you enjoyed the game, why not create your own winter walk bingo card and share it with us on our Facebook Wall or via Twitter.

PS: If you do spot Father Christmas or Jack Frost, let us know!

Winter walk bingo card

Download the winter walk bingo card PDF

Outdoor play project

Find out more about Eden’s Mud Between Your Toes charity project, which aims to connect children and young people to the world they live in – to experience, understand and celebrate their sense of place and purpose in the natural world and in their communities.

Frog Instrument

If you’ve got lots of energy and love making lots of noise why not try our Frog Instrument? A beautifully crafted wooden percussion instrument made from the jack fruit tree, it’s hand carved in Vietnam and Thailand where the sustainable wood grows in abundance.

Djembe Drum

For those of you who really like to feel the beat we’ve got just the drum for you. The Djembe originated in West Africa, and has become popular the world over. To play this drum you ‘slap’ the top from the centre outwards or around the edge. The skin is tied on with a nylon cord so you can even alter the pitch to find your own unique sound.

Mini Panpipes

For smaller music makers, our Mini Panpipes are a wonderful introduction to woodwind instruments. First made by the Incas, panpipes were used to communicate with the gods by imitating the whistle of the wind. Whip them out on a blustery day and play them in your garden or the local park for the full experience!

Peruvian Flute

All you budding recorder players out there will love our Peruvian Flutes. Hand crafted from bamboo in a small family workshop, these flutes have a lovely earthy, woody sound. Originally from the mountains of Peru these intricate flutes are decorated with traditional South American motifs.

M’bira

Looking for something a little more unusual? Maybe our thumb pianos will strike a chord. These traditional African instruments made from hollowed out coconut shells and hand painted, sound just as beautiful as they look. Create rhythm and melody by lightly striking the keys with your thumbs.

As part of our Festival of Play season, we’re offering loads of ideas for games and activities on the themes of outdoor play and circus fun to keep your kids occupied this summer.

Not only are these water bombs fun to make but great fun to use! Get the whole family involved and see how wet you can get! Recycle old and used paper but be careful when using newspaper as it doesn’t hold the water for long so you’ll have to be quick!

Some of the stages can be a little tricky but  keep trying as the result is worth it! As with all origami, you must make sure your creases are strong and straight as this will make it easier when trying to fold your bombs together.

As you can see, we have made water bombs in all different sizes and using different bits of old paper. The smaller you make your bomb the fiddlier it gets, so we suggest starting with a piece of paper measuring at least 20cm x 20cm. Download your ‘how to’ activity sheet here: How to make an origami water bomb (PDF)

As part of our Festival of Play season, we’re offering loads of ideas for games and activities on the themes of outdoor play and circus fun to keep your kids occupied this summer.

We all know kids love to play with cardboard boxes. We quite like to play with them ourselves!  From a train to a castle and a secret tunnel to a pair of shoes, with a simple ‘box of tricks’ and a pile of waste packaging let the fun begin…

20 things you can make:

• Boat

• Playhouse

• Car

• Monster

• Lorry

• Flowers

• Helicopter

• Chair

• Dog

• Aeroplane

• Castle

• Caterpillar

• Dolls house

• Secret tunnel

• Robot

• Shoes

• Train

• Hat

• Assault course

• Scooter

Share some of your best makes with us so we can add to the list.

To start creating gather together as many of the following as you can:

• as many bits of cardboard and plastic you can

• a thick marker pen or paints to decorate your structure

• and, if you want to get really professional, a Makedo kit

What is a Makedo kit?

Makedo have created an innovative connector system, which allows you to connect and shape cardboard, plastic and fabric to create the most brilliant objects and structures. A bit like DIY meccano on a large scale.

With hinges and attachment pins as well as a safety saw, the Makedo set means you will never have to use scissors or tape again. The best thing is, once you have created your cardboard masterpiece you can reuse the Makedo tools all over again. You can buy the Makedo kits from the our online shop or find out more at makedo.com.au

Remember to keep all kind of packaging for your magical builds:

• Bubble wrap

• Coffee cups

• Egg boxes

• Toilet roll tubes

• Plastic bottles

• Ice cream tubs

• Kitchen roll tubes

• Bottle tops

• Tissue boxes

• Cup holders

As part of our Festival of Play season, we’re offering loads of ideas for games and activities on the themes of outdoor play and circus fun to keep your kids occupied this summer.

Looking for something quick and easy to keep the kids entertained this summer? Try out our homemade outdoor floor paint. It’s simple to make and will keep the the whole family busy for hours. Here at Eden we have painted hopscotches, games and trails onto our paths to keep the young (and old) entertained!

You need a stretch of paving or wall to get started - a drive way or garden patio is perfect. You’ll also need some brushes or, if you fancy getting really messy, you can use your hands and feet too. We’ve also enjoyed making prints from leaves, wheels, twigs, plant pots and other items found in the garden.

To make the paint:

Thats it!  As soon as you’re ready to clean up, simply use water and a brush to wash away the paints.

As part of our Festival of Play season, we’re offering loads of ideas on the themes of outdoor play and circus fun to keep your kids occupied this summer.

We love to encourage outdoor play among families, so we’ve engineered the landscape at Eden to help curious young minds explore their creativity. We’ve tried to make the whole site playful in one way or another, but there are specific features that attract children of all ages. Some of these features are described below. Which is your favourite?

Rainforest Biome

The Spice Boat

By Bill Mitchell and David Mynne

The drawers of this boat contain spices of all kinds. People love to dig in and get a good waft of the beautiful aromas. The plants that many of these spices come from are grown in the Biome!

The Core

The Plant Processor (aka ‘The Nutcracker’)

By Rob Higgs with cartoons by Tim Hunkin

Wind the handle of this people-powered automaton to learn about energy and processing.

Fridge Magnet Wall

By the Eden Team

We love seeing how our visitors create removable graffiti when they are presented with the freedom of this white space. We get people from all over the world leaving all kinds of lovely messages.

The Nest

By Mike Jones at Earthwrights

This playful structure outside the entrance to the Core appeals to younger kids, who love clambering over it, and older teenagers, who like to hang out on it.

Spiral Garden

By the Eden Team

This area behind the Core has all kinds of inspirational ideas for making a low-cost school or community garden in a small space on the north side of a building: willow spirals, rainbows of flowers, soft paths, and plants that are textured or spooky or scented.

Outdoor Biome

Bestival Tree

By Simon Hayward and Stuart Carter of Green Oak Cornwall

This ‘tree made of a tree’ using green woodworking techniques acts as a meeting place and play space up on the Bluff, near the Bridge. It is so named because we took it to the Bestival Festival in the Isle of Wight one year.

Bamboo Exploration, outside the Rainforest Biome

By the Eden Team

Kids love to get in among the bamboo plants and follow the paths. We like to encourage youngsters to get up close to the plants and literally get a feel for what makes them so special.

Mating Snakes Path, in The Garden near the Link

Inspired by Environmental Art, and redone by the Eden Team

People of all ages run through these tunnels of willow. The paths, which interweave like mating snakes, present people with a choice of which one to follow.

Cut-throughs

By the Eden Team

We’ve created these short cuts to make our longer paths more exciting for kids. The small size of the cut-throughs also makes children feel that they’re designed especially for them.

Eye holes on the Viewing Platform, outside the Visitor Centre

By the Eden Team

We were required by regulation to make the barrier on our Viewing Platform 1.1 metres high, so we added these holes to enable children and people in wheelchairs to see the full glory of the Eden site.

Tea Clipper, part of Tea exhibit

By the Eden Team with shipbuilder Alastair Guy

This ship, which has run aground in our Tea exhibit, was built using traditional techniques. It provides an engrossing short cut that many kids linger on to play for longer.

Willow Play Space

By the Eden Team

Willow is an incredibly versatile, cheap, and fast-growing material. Here we used it to make tunnels and teepees around a sandpit. The area also features timber perches, a throne and musical instruments. This enclosed space is the perfect, and safe, place for little kids to let off steam.

With thanks to Jane Knight, and to A-level Photography students at Truro College for the images

As part of our Festival of Play season, we’re offering loads of ideas for games and activities on the themes of outdoor play and circus fun to keep your kids occupied this summer.

Recycle unwanted pieces of fabric to create and customise your own juggling balls!

Stuff you need:

• Material – cotton is best because it doesn’t stretch. Use an old item of clothing or bedding – the more colourful the better!
• Cardboard
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Sewing machine – if you don’t have access to one you can always do it by hand.
• Pearl barley – you can purchase this for most grocery stores; it’s usually in the same area as the dried beans.
• Needle and thread

How to make your juggling balls:

Step 1. Take the cardboard and a ruler and draw out a triangle with each side measuring four inches. Cut the triangle out to create a template.

Step 2. Lay out your fabric.

Step 3. Using your cardboard template, mark and cut out 12 equal fabric triangles.

Step 4. Gather the triangles into groups of four – be creative and mix different coloured fabrics together.

Step 5. Sew each set together – using one as a base and three as each side of the triangle – make sure to leave a side open to add the pearl barley.

Step 6. Fill the bags with equal amounts of the pearl barley and sew the last open side together to create a sealed bag.

Tip: Make sure the bags are kept dry, as the contents will swell!

Now, get juggling!

If you don’t know how to juggle, you can learn with our video…

Blog by Rebecca Mitchell

With thanks to Jean Cunliffe

As part of our Festival of Play season, we’re offering loads of ideas for games and activities on the themes of outdoor play and circus fun to keep your kids occupied this summer.

Here’s a great rainy day activity. We’ve designed a simple board game based on the Eden site. All you need to do is print it out, colour it in, make some counters (perhaps use coins or mini figures) and get hold of a dice.

Download the board game (PDF)

Blank version

We’ve also made a blank version of the game so that you can use your imagination to create your own ‘action squares’ in the game – instructions that will mean that players have to miss a turn, or jump forward two squares, for instance.

Download the blank board game (PDF)

Your own personalised game

Filling in the blank Eden game will help you get your creative juices going for the real fun of creating your own board game. Start with a blank sheet of paper and make a board that features your kids’ favourite natural places, such as the park, your local woods, or a beach that you’ve visited on holiday. Personalising the game will really help to get your kids excited about creating and playing it. If you’re particularly proud of your personalised game, why not tell us about it on this blog, or post a picture on our Facebook Wall?

As part of our Festival of Play season, we’re offering loads of ideas for games and activities on the themes of outdoor play and circus fun to keep your kids occupied this summer.

Run away with the circus with these funny costumes. Become an amazing acrobat, a super strongman or a comical clown. You could then let your imagination run riot and design your own costumes!

Stuff you need

• a picture of your face (or someone else’s face)
• a colour printer to print off the templates (PDF) and the picture of yourself
• card to mount the templates on
• glue
• scissors

How to create your person template and clothes

Step 1.  Click here to download the templates (PDF).

Step 2.  Print them off.

Step 3.  Print off the picture of your face (or someone else’s).

Step 4.  Stick every template onto a piece of card and cut them out.

Step 5.  Stick the picture of your face onto the person template.

Step 6.  Attach your chosen outfit to the person template by folding down the tabs on the clothes.

Tip: You can make your circus character stand up by attaching a pencil to the back with some tape and sticking the pencil in a lump of Blu-tack.

Safe play tip: Take extra care when using scissors!

Blog by Rebecca Mitchell

As part of our Festival of Play season, we’re offering loads of ideas for games and activities on the themes of outdoor play and circus fun to keep your kids occupied this summer.

What you need:

• Things that will hold, spill, pour, spray water, such as buckets, hose pipes, cups and bottles.
• Things for building and supporting your watercourse structure, such as sticks, boxes, tables and ladders.
• Things for holding your watercourse together, such as string, tape, rubber bands and elastic.
• Water! From a tap or a hose or a bucket or a cup, it doesn’t really matter.

How to play water assault courses:

There is just one rule: you cannot move the water yourself by simply carrying it in pots. Your assault course must do the work, using gravity and pipes. Although there’s nothing to say you can’t do a bit of squirting or spraying to help it on its way!

Why not set yourself various challenges:

• Pour a glass of water from a jug at one end of the table into a glass at the other.
• How far can you move water? Down your garden path?
• How high can you get your water? Over a wall? Up to the top floor?
• How much water can you move without spilling it? Who can waste the least?

Safe play tips

• Water that comes out of a pipe, hose, or tap, might be drinkable… but water that sits in a drain, a pool, or a puddle should not be slurped.
• Skin is waterproof, but water that gets someone else wet, cold and miserable is not always welcome, so ask before you drench.
• Water might not go exactly where you think. Don’t build near electricity.
• Try not to turn your garden into a swamp and make sure you don’t flood the living room. Make a note of where the drains are and use them.
• Water can be slippery stuff. There will be spills, so a good grip is essential.
• Only use clean, empty containers. Tins of paint or chemicals are bad news for you and the environment, so don’t poor stuff down the drain just to get an empty pot.

Get more ideas from this video of a group of kids who joined together with other families on the same street to build their own water assault course.

Come and try out your water structure skills in a free Summer Splash activity during Eden’s Festival of Play.