Zoology, Botany and Forestry aren’t exactly in the vocabulary of the under-5 set.

Yet, every time we hit the beach, the garden or the trail, science is following us around.

Each pine cone or shell tucked in a tiny pocket reveals something significant about a place we’ve explored. (Yes, OK, I am total science nerd.)

And I’m pretty sure at this point that we could do at least a bit of a diorama on a few outdoor locales around the region.

I came to this conclusion a few weeks ago after a minor disaster with the “Nature Table” in our living room (which has now been dismantled). Buried under bowls and bowls…and even a few more bowls…full of everything imaginable from nearly 3 years of morning walks, I realized exploration had now overrun what used to be living space.

So, in the name of extraction of dirt, organization and maybe even a little bit of focused learning, we set out to create a little living room museum exhibit of sorts.

I had an ulterior motive for this project, figuring that if she could actually SEE a whole whack of her exploration faves, I could pack away the rest of them or return them to their rightful locale without missing a beat in the easily distracted preschool universe.

The bonus was that I was – surprisingly – right. And our house has mostly forgiven me for the invasion of the curious tiny person’s emptied pockets.

Even if your kiddo isn’t a nature-minded pack rat, building a home museum is a fun way to begin talking about a whole whack of subjects at any age – including local history, taking care of nature, preserving memories and many more.

Our daughter liked it because it gives her a tangible reference for all things cool – shells from her favourite beaches, flowers from grandma’s garden and pine cones from the forest.

As for the science of it all, David Suzuki – my all-time favourite scientist, gives this one a thumbs up since the organization that comes with creating simple shadow boxes is a great tool for helping kiddos understand the connections in nature.

Here’s what you need:

- Shadow boxes (shoe boxes, old candy boxes or even serving containers converted into wall art are great for this. A trip to the thrift store can turn up all kinds of options).
- A hot glue gun
- Shells, pinecones, dried flowers, just about anything you can come up with from nature
- Craft paper
- Decorations of any kind

Directions:

1. Get your shadow boxes set up. Take craft paper and cut it to fit the back of the box (we used scrapbook paper for a little flair). Glue in place (safety note: hot glue guns should ONLY be used by parents and always kept out of the reach of little hands. Oh those burns would hurt). You can try different paper options like cutting it out and gluing it to the inside edges instead of the back for a different effects.

2. Pre-arrange your collection of things. I had the tiny person sort things into bowls then pick out her favourite things. Hot glue them onto the paper.

3. After that, you can do some decorative additions. For older kiddos, you can label each piece in the display, even name the display. Like this one that we (OK, I) deemed “Anatomy of a Beach”: