Tanni Haas, Ph.D.
Family adventures take on new meaning at a local beach, park, nature preserve or wildlife reserve. Here are some nature-related apps that’ll add to the fun and at the same time teach your kids a lot about what they’re experiencing. The best part is that these apps are completely free, so take a moment and download an app – or three!
Audubon Bird Guide
(Available at: Apple App Store)
Developed by the Audubon Society, the Audubon Bird Guide is the most comprehensive and trusted one-stop source of information about North American birds. It includes detailed information about more than 800 species as well as audio clips of recorded bird calls and songs. It also has more than 3,000 beautiful photographs. Most importantly, you and the kids can look up and identify any bird that you observe by recording characteristics such as their color, size, body shape, and wingspan. You can also keep detailed records of your observations and upload and share photos with other bird watchers.
iNaturalist
(Available at: Apple App Store)
What the Audubon Bird Guide app is to birds, iNaturalist app is to animal and plant life more generally. You simply take a photo of any animal or plant that you observe, upload the photo to the app, and the app will then help you determine which animal or plant it is. You can also identify animals by recording the sounds they make and uploading them to the app. This app offers you and the kids the opportunity to share all your observations with other users, too.
Wild Berries and Herbs Lite
(Available at: Apple App Store)
Wild Berries and Herbs Lite is a great companion app to iNaturalist. As you observe local plant life, you may come across berries and herbs that appear familiar to you. Before you put anything in your mouth, snap a photo and let the app tell you whether what you’ve discovered is indeed edible or not. To make the identification as accurate as possible, the app includes several images for each berry and herb in various stages of growth. You can also search by name (if you happen to know what the berry or herb is called) as well as other identifying features.
Rockd
(Available at: Apple App Store)
Whether your outing is to a local beach, park, or wildlife reserve, chances are that you’ll be visiting a place with a unique geological history. To learn more about your surroundings, download Rockd, an app created by the Department of Geoscience at the University of Madison – Wisconsin. When you give the app access to your location, it generates detailed stratigraphic information (information about the rock layer you’re standing on) as well as the type of rock and its age. Your kids will learn that even the most mundane-looking local park has a rich geological history that goes back hundreds of thousands if not millions of years. They can even see what Earth looked like at the time when the rock they’re currently standing on was first formed.
WWF Together
(Available at: Apple App Store)
It’s unlikely that you’ll encounter endangered animals during a trip to the local beach, park, or wild life reserve, but that doesn’t make it any less important for the kids to know about those animals. In fact, the less you know about endangered animals from direct experience, the more you need to learn about them second-hand. For that, download WWF Together. Created by the World Wildlife Fund, this app includes detailed information and fun facts about sixteen endangered animals, including pandas, sea turtles, and tigers. When you get home from your local outing, open the app together, look at all the beautiful photos and videos, and get information about how you and the kids can get involved in protecting endangered animals.
About the Author
Tanni Haas, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Communication Arts, Sciences, and Disorders at The City University of New York – Brooklyn College.
