Hannah Tennent
Welcome back to Stuck Inside where we share ways to have fun and connect with the outdoors while also staying safe. Did you figure out all of the riddles from last week? If you didn’t and they’ve been rattling around your brain, check out these answers.
- Kittens can pass through the Green Glass Door but cats cannot. Muffins are allowed but you’ll never see any cake behind the door. Why? Any word with double letters -- “boot”, “tree”, or “balloon” -- can go through the door.
- Like Green Glass Door, the secret to I Like Coffee But Not T(ea) is in the title. Why do I like recycling, pine cones, and puppies but I hate trash, trees, and t-rex’s? Because all those words have the letter “T” in them.
- Riddle 1: Which is heavier, a pound of feathers or a pound of rocks? Neither, they both weigh a pound!
- Riddle 2: You’re driving a bus. At the first stop three kids and a woman get on. At the second stop two kids get off and a man gets on. The bus is blue and it is raining outside in December. What color is the bus driver’s hair? Whatever color your hair is, you’re driving!
- Riddle 3: A man is walking through the rain without a jacket or an umbrella. He gets soaked, but not a single hair on his head is wet. How can this be? The man is bald!
This Week's Stuck Inside is inspired by Spring Rain Showers. Let's play with water!
Learn about water & the life it sustains
- Water provides the ideal home for an important local species: salmon. Without salmon, many animals like bears, orca whales, and birds would go hungry. Salmon even make forests stronger! When they swim upriver to have babies, they bring water with them that is full of nutrients and the trees alongside the river love it. Local non-profit Long Live The Kings put some geo-trackers on salmon and you can see where the fish swim in this fun online game. Challenge: Try to find the fish that swims the furthest!
- Make more food just by using water! Next time your family buys green onions, celery, lemon grass, or lettuce save a little bit. Cut about three inches up from the bottom of each of these plants and then place that stub in a bowl of water in the sun. They should all grow new sections. Do a taste test and see what is your favorite!
- We can’t go to the Seattle Aquarium right now but you can see what the otters are up to from the comfort of your couch. If you see the otters rolling around and licking themselves, they are grooming and keeping their fur clean. Clean fur traps air bubbles that insulate these cute creatures and keeps them warm!
Play with water at home
- We have been using soap constantly to keep our hands clean but what if I told that same substance could power a boat? Challenge your family to a friendly competition to see whose soap-driven mini boat can go the furthest.
- Water is a key ingredient in the classic Oobleck. Make your own and have something to play with for days.
- Create a sidewalk water adventure for people in your neighborhood! Grab some chalk and go to your front sidewalk or a city park near you. Draw a start line and then a rushing river that people, pretending to be raindrops, can navigate. What kind of obstacles will they encounter? Maybe it’ll be a bear drinking from the river or a giant waterfall.
- Paint with water! Ice cubes that are made with food coloring are a fun art medium that can inspire some quick, artistic murals.
Be inspired to to have your own outdoor wet adventures
- Sky Brown is a professional 11-year-old surfer and skateboarder! Before the 2020 Olympics were postponed, Sky had planned to try out and was aiming to be Great Britain's youngest summer Olympian. Since a young age, she’s been playing around in water and on land. If you are willing to swim in some cold water, you could learn to surf here in Washington!
- Perhaps the open ocean isn’t your type of water. Do you prefer to have all that water frozen and underneath your feet? Join this young backseat dreamer if you want to let your mind escape to the adventures that could be in store for you next winter.
Share your knowledge
Do you play fun games with water at home? Do you know any interesting facts about water? Share your ideas in the comments section!
Youth Team Highlight: Debbee Lynn, Kitsap Youth programs coordinator
"During our stay home stay healthy days I reflect on all the wonderful people in our world who sacrifice and serve and am in gratitude. I have been trying to stay on top of school work and reading. Like everyone, I miss the freedom to go anywhere outdoors and instead head out for local runs, walks, hikes, yoga, and biking. Each day I try to do a little something from gardening to creating a zen garden to sitting on the beach at low tide watching the cormorants, blue herons, eagles, seagulls, sea stars and the squirts of water rising up from the shellfish below. When sitting in nature, whether far from home or in my backyard, I enjoy connecting to the space and all living beings there, which gives me a sense of connection to everything on our planet. In gratitude and compassion I search for ways to connect to loved ones and to help in the community wherever I can even if it is virtual. I hope everyone is doing well, in good health and at ease to reset and ready to be connected in community and nature."
Learn about the Explorers program and the Mountain Workshops that Debbee organizes in Kitsap.
STAY SAFE, HAVE FUN, BE JOYFUL! SEE YOU NEXT WEEK.
About Youth Programs
The Mountaineers is committed to bringing outdoor experiences to today's youth through our outdoor youth and family programs. We introduce young people to the benefits of outdoor experiences: a healthy lifestyle, outdoor recreation skills, perseverance, self-confidence, self-reliance, an appreciation for the natural world, and a commitment to protecting outdoor spaces. We offer year-round clubs, break and summer camps, outreach programs through Mountain Workshops, a youth gear lending library and even programs for our smallest members: Mini Mountaineers. Learn more about all of the programs we offer.
Check out all of the previous episodes of Stuck Inside for more fun activities!
