Eco Party Activities

Here are activity ideas for five different types of birthday parties for kids.

Ocean Steward Party

Visit the Aquarium. Arrange to take your partygoers to your local aquarium. Have the kids bring along dive log fish stickers (such as those made by Stickerfish.com and included in the PK Ocean Steward Party Box) and a piece of sturdy paper. Challenge them to find live examples of the fish on the stickers. Invite them to place on the paper each sticker of the fish they see and record other observations. (1.5-2 hours; all ages)

Bring the Aquarium Home. Line the walls of one of your rooms at home with cardboard. Remember to keep open an exit or two. Give kids colored markers, construction paper, colorful strips of paper, string, tape, and scissors and have them decorate the room as an underwater sea world. Use dive log fish stickers (such as those made by Stickerfish.com and included in the PK Ocean Steward Party Box) as models. (0.5-1 hour; all ages)

Clean the Beach. Make arrangements to have a beach cleaning party at a nearby beach. Provide partygoers with plastic bags and gloves. Give prizes to the kids who collect the most garbage. You can arrange a scavenger hunt at the same time. While kids are cleaning, they can look for items (moon clam shell, geoduck, otter print, etc.) listed on a card and check them off when they see them. (1-2 hours; older kids)

S.O.S.: Save Our Seas. Compile an action list of things to do to help the oceans. (One is included in the PK Ocean Steward Party Box.) Get partygoers to work in small groups. Each group can choose one of the ideas on the list to illustrate in a poster. Provide large poster board, colored markers, colored paper, scissors, and glue. Have kids share their posters and talk about what steps they can take to help ocean life. You might arrange to exhibit the posters at a local business. (1 hour; older kids)

Pin the Fish on the Ocean. On large poster paper, draw a map of the Pacific, Indo-Pacific, and Indian Oceans. On cardboard, draw and cut out an Achilles Tang (found in the Pacific near Hawaii) and a Clown Triggerfish (between the Indian and Pacific). (Models are available in the dive log stickers made by Stickerfish.com and included in the PK Ocean Steward Party Box.)With a blindfold, play pin the fish. Each kid gets a turn to pin the fish on the correct ocean. (0.5 hour; younger kids)

Artist Party

Visit an Art Museum. Arrange to take your group of partygoers to a local art museum. Find out in advance about kid-friendly exhibits to see and interactive art projects. (1-2 hours; all ages)

Make a Mood Mural. A mood mural is a large piece of art showing different kinds of feelings or moods. Ask partygoers to help you make a list of different moods (silly, happy, angry, excited, etc.), and then have them work individually or in pairs, each chosing a mood to draw together on large mural paper. Provide markers, paints and brushes, or collage materials like construction paper, old magazines, and stickers. Take digital photos of the finished mural for each kid to take home. (1 hour; all ages)

Still Life of the Party. Set up a still life party scene, like cake and snack food, for kids to look at and draw using colored markers. Provide cardboard frames for the finished pieces and have kids decorate the frames with stickers and glitter glue. In advance print out stickers with the date of the party, the partygiver's name, and a thank you message. Stick one on the back of each still life for kids to take home as souvenirs. (0.5 hour; older kids)

Brave New World. Set up a work area covered with newspaper and provide clay and simple cutting and shaping tools, such as plastic knives. Challenge your group to create a world on another planet with new life forms and lanscapes. Make a short digital film of the landscape and e-mail a copy to each partygoer after the party. (1-2 hours; all ages)

The Perfect Birthday. Ask partygoers each to select a medium (painting, drawing, collage, sculpture, photography, etc.) and provide them with the appropriate materials. Then challenge the kids each to create a piece of art called The Perfect Birthday. Encourage experimentation, free-thinking, and wide interpretation of the theme. When everyone is done, put on an art exhibit of the finished works. (1 hour; all ages)

Music Party

Listen to the Music. Arrange to take your partygoers to a musical performance appropriate for kids, or have performers come to your home to play. You might organize a musical scavenger hunt for the performance. Give kids a card with things to listen for (such as a a soprano voice, a string plucking, a bell ringing, high hat, etc.) and have them check off the items as they hear them. (1-2 hours; all ages)

Move to the Music. Different kinds of music make us feel like moving in different ways. Play a range of music (fast and slow, soft and loud, dramatic and playful, sad and happy, etc.) and ask kids to use their bodies to match the mood of the music. Encourage experimentation and innovation. (0.5 hour; younger kids)

Name That Music. Arrange chairs in a circle, facing out. Make sure there is one fewer chair than there are kids. Play a selection of music from different genres (jazz, flamenco, opera, gospel, chant, etc.) while kids circle the chairs (download the tunes from iTunes or a similar Internet search and download service). Hold up a large card showing the name of a musical genre. When the music matches the card you are holding, everyone tries to grab a chair and sit. One kid will be left standing. Have him or her hold up the next genre card for the next round. (0.5 hour; all ages)

Shake It Up. Provide a range of containers such as yogurt cups, film canisters, toilet paper tubes, soda cans, and glass jars as well as different fillings such as dry beans, rice, sand, pebbles, marbes, and paper clips. (Alternatively, use the rainmaker kits available in the PK Music Party Box.) Have each partygoer choose a container, partly fill it with one of the fillings, and then seal it closed. Kids can decorate their shakers with markers, crayons, glitter glue, and stickers. When they're done, play or perform some music that is mostly melody and have the kids provide the rhythm. (0.5 hour; younger kids)

Forest Steward Party

Plant a Tree. At a nursery, purchase a tree native to your area that will provide habitat for a range of animals. Ask for planting instructions. Plant the tree in your yard or arrange with the park district to plant the tree in a local park. Have partygoers help you dig the hole and place and water the tree. Kids can also plant tree seeds at home or as part of a large-scale tree-planting effort during the party (Elm tree seeds and planting instructions are included in the PK Forest Steward Party Box.) Visit www.americanforests.org for more information. (0.75-1 hour; all ages)

Take a Hike. Tahe your group for a hike in the woods at a forest preserve or park. Find out in advance about trails and choose one appropriate for kids. Provide kids with a park service list of flora and fauna to look for and have them check off species as they go. Explain that good hikers walk quietly, never distrub wildlife, and leave nothing behind. (1 hour; all ages)

Make Like a Tree. Together create a forest ecosystem skit. Each kid can play a different member of the forest (tree, bird, bear, fern, and so on). Have kids act out what happens when a tree is cut down, when there is a fire or drought, and when new trees are planted. (0.5 hour; younger kids)

Follow the Track. Provide partygoers with animal track images (included in the PK Forest Steward Party Box) as models for making tracks out of construction paper and also pens and scissors. Each kid should then use his or her paper tracks to make an animal trail aand leave written clues about the type of animal that made the tracks. Kids can take turns following each other's trails and trying to identify each type of animal. (1 hour; older kids)

Trail Party. Organize a trail upkeep party with your local park service or park district. Alternatively, host an ivy pull. Provide partygoers with tools and together work on a section of forest. Make sure partygoers understand what effects their work will have. When they're done have a picnic in one of the park's picnic areas. (1-2 hours; older kids)

Bird Brain Party

Go Bird Watching. Contact a local Audubon chapter or other birding organization to arrange for a guided bird watching outing. Ask for a checklist of the birds you are likely to see and give each partygoer a copy. Have kids check off the birds they see. (1-2 hours; older kids)

Be a Bird Sleuth. Take a walk in your neighborhood or local park. Tell the kids to be bird sleuths and use their bird brains to look for evidence of birdlife (sightings, calls, sounds of movement, nests, etc.). Have them walk quietly in small groups and take notes to share later. (0.5 hour; all ages)

Fly Like a Bird. Bird wings are specially shaped for flying. A wing's arched top and flat bottom make the air pressure higher on the bottom, lifting it up. Using this wing lift, birds push forward with their bodies to fly. Together make bird gliders from a kit (included in the PK Bird Brains Party Box). They will need glue for the eyes. Test the gliders outside and observe how they are like and unlike real birds. (0.5 hour; younger kids)

Make a Raptor. Many birds die from flying into windows. Kids can help birds by making paper cutouts shaped like raptors and taping them to windows at home. Many kinds of birds are afraid of raptors and will fly away from paper cutouts. Provide black or brown construction paper and scissors and have kids trace a raptor shape onto the paper and cut out the shape. (A raptor outline is included in the PK Bird Brains Party Box.) (0.25 hour; all ages)

Bird Sanctuary. Have partygoers help you build a bird sanctuary in your yard on a balcony or porch, or at school. Provide a large pot drainage saucer and a large pot. Put the saucer on top of the overturned pot and you have a birdbath for kids to paint and decorate with mosaic tiles. Some partygoers can make suet out of fat and black oil sunflower seeds and fill up plastic cups with the mixture when it is still warm. The cups can be hung from tree branches. Others can make a ground feeder for black oil sunflower seeds out of a pre-cut wood frame and screen netting from a local hardware store. Take the Audubon healthy yard pledge and encourage kids to do the same at home. You might make a poster showing the six points of the pledge. (1 hour; older kids)