Nature detective work is a great way for kids to develop cognitive thinking, visual perception, and confidence.
With the coming of the fall season many trees shed their leaves. What a great opportunity to encourage kids to learn more about the different types that can be found in your area!
Here are 4 fun ways to explore leaves like a detective:
- Take it slow while on a walk and study the leaves right on the spot.
- Take some time to sketch them out in a nature journal. If you don’t have a journal yet, we’ve got a Recipe for Play to make your own!
- Gather leaves as you walk and take them home for a fun science experiment.
- Download our leaf scavenger hunt and play along wherever you are!

What can we learn from leaves?
Visual perception
When kids work on puzzles they work on perceiving the shapes and forms of the object. Leaves are a nature puzzle! One type of leaf may have smooth curves while another has more jagged edges. Compare and contrast leaves: can they find leaves with similar shapes to each other? What about colors?
Visual perception encompasses different developmental milestones including:
- The ability to see similarities and differences (in this case with different types of leaves)
- Making sense of what is being seen
- Recognizing common shapes
Confidence
We all enjoy the satisfaction of figuring out a puzzle and learning something new. It is a great encouragement for a child to be able to figure something out, especially doing it by themselves. That confidence gives them the drive and independence to keep exploring and learning new things.

Identify leaves
Can you help identify the type of tree the leaves come from? Here are some examples of leaf shapes!

Enhance your adventure
We have a variety of leaves changing color on our outdoor prairie! Plan a visit to the Children’s Museum of South Dakota to see them and say “hi” to Mama T. Rex.
If you are looking to enhance your adventure, download this fun fall leaf scavenger hunt. It will provide a way to add new discoveries along your favorite walking path!