You don’t have to have a lot of gear or travel far to have a great time camping. With your parents’ permission and help, you can camp right in your own backyard.

You’ll Need:

• A tent,
• An air mattress or soft pad to lie on,
• Sleeping bag (or blankets) and a pillow,
• A flashlight with fresh batteries,
• Snacks

1. Set up your tent and make your bed.

2. Play outdoor games until it gets dark.

3. If you have an outdoor grill, ask an adult to start a campfire in it.

4. Roast marshmallows over the fire and make s’mores.

5. Shine your flashlights around and see if you can spot bats, moths, and other night creatures.

6. Crawl into your bed and tell stories or read until you fall sleep.

Make your campout extra memorable with these fun nature activities:

1. Listen to the chorus of night sounds. Can you hear frogs trillings, crickets chirping, katydids calling or owls hooting?

2. Before dark, have a nature scavenger hunt. Bugs, leaves, seeds, rocks, flowers, animals tracks–what treasures will you find? Divide into teams and keep a list of your discoveries.

3. At dusk, watch for fireflies if you have them in your region. If you spot one flashing, try blinking a flashlight in the same pattern of flashes. Will the firefly blink back? Or even come close?

4. Stargaze. When it’s really dark, lie down and look up at the stars. See if you can find some familiar constellations. Or make up your own-and stories to go with them.

5. Wake up early the next morning and watch the sun rise.