Denver Public Library

The Journey

Summer of Adventure: The Journey

We’ve created a list of stellar activities that will help you to READ, MAKE, and EXPLORE while at home! These activities will change every Monday so be sure to come back for more fun.

  • Maker Challenge entry OUTSIDE

    Spies and seek

    Birth to 5

    Instead of playing I Spy, try playing I Hear next time you are outdoors. Give your little one clues about things you hear outside. You could even try playing I Smell!

    K-5th

    Play a game of Capture the Flag with your friends or family. Four or more people are needed to play this game. You’ll also need two hand towels or t-shirts to start. Decide on a boundary area for your game. It does not have to be big! Designate one place as the penalty box, such as a tree or fire hydrant. Divide your group into two teams. Divide your boundary area into two zones, one for each team. Each team will hide their flag (the hand towel or t-shirt.) The goal is to retrieve the other team’s flag and bring it to your own boundary area. But watch out! If you are tagged by the opposing team, you have to wait in the penalty box until someone from your own team tags you out! Good luck!

    6th-12th

    Gather your friends and family for a game of Sardines. First, designate a playing boundary. Next, choose one person to hide. Everyone else is a seeker. The seekers should close their eyes and count to 30, slowly and all together. No peeking! Then, the seekers’ job is to find the hider. But here is the catch! Once a player finds the hider, that player hides with them. Soon all the players are packed together like sardines in a can! The last seeker to find the hider is the next seeker. Have fun!

    Family

    Play flashlight tag a new way. Invent a flashlight code for each family member. This would look similar to Morse code. For example, one player’s code might be short-long-short with the flashlight. Each player has to memorize everyone’s code. When night falls, take a flashlight outside. Take turns signaling one of the codes. The other players have to guess whose code it is. The first to guess, signals the next code. (You can also play this game with hand clapping codes, if you don’t have a flashlight handy!)

  • Maker Challenge entry INSIDE

    Spies and Seek

    Birth to 5

    Play a game of I Spy to build vocabulary. Try variations such as, “I spy something I can eat!” or “I spy something that makes a loud sound.” Let your preschooler have a turn spying, even though they might simply tell you what they are looking at! Help them find different words to describe what they are seeing, to continue building their vocabulary.

    K-5th

    Make an invisible message. Use a white crayon to write a message on white paper. Construction paper works best for this. If you have a hard time seeing what you are writing, tilt your paper around in the sunlight to help illuminate your message. But keep it secret! Whoever you give it to will need to brush the paper with dark juice, diluted food coloring, or watercolors to reveal the message!

    6th-12th

    Make your own invisible ink! Invisible ink has an interesting history, including being used to send messages between spies! You can make this ink very easily. Mix together ¼ cup of baking soda with a ¼ cup of water: equal parts baking soda and water. Use a q-tip or paintbrush to write a message on a white piece of paper. Allow your message to dry. Gently brush grape juice or another dark juice across your message to reveal it. The acidity from the juice works with the baking soda to reveal what you have written!

    Family

    Keeping with our spy theme this week, play a game of What’s Missing with your family. Players take a close look at a room before leaving it. One player stays behind, and removes something from the room. Then the players reenter the room and have to identify what is missing. The first person to correctly identify the missing object wins! Take turns being the player who gets to remove the object.

  • Maker Challenge entry OUTSIDE

    Adventure

    Birth to 5

    Have a Bubble Party! Blow bubbles for your toddler and play different games. First, have your toddler use their hands to clap the bubbles. Then, invite your toddler to try to catch a bubble. This is hard to do! Finish by calmly watching the bubbles fall to the ground without touching them. This is also hard to do! Don’t have bubbles on hand? Sign up for Summer of Adventure at your nearest library location to get a bottle of bubbles as a registration prize!

    K-5th

    Practice the art of close looking by heading outdoors with a pair of binoculars. Don’t have binoculars? Register for Summer of Adventure at your nearest library location and get a pair of cardboard binoculars just for signing up! Use your binoculars as a way to slow down and observe details as you explore outside.

    6th-12th

    Be sure to register for Summer of Adventure at your nearest library location to receive a free glow-in-the-dark frisbee. Then start the summer with a nighttime game! Using your glow-in-the-dark frisbee, stand about six feet away from your opponent. Toss the frisbee back and forth, with each player taking a step further back before each toss. Pretty soon it will be hard to see anything but the frisbee!

    Family

    There is so much more to do with your library card than checking out materials. Did you know you can use your library card to visit many of Denver’s museum and cultural institutions? Book your free pass.