Best camping toys for kids
- Learning Resources Posted On Jul 28, 2020 | Family Time
Back garden camping offers the best of both worlds – you can enjoy a night out under the stars without having to pack up the car. Plus, you can choose your weather and have access to creature comforts. Camping isn’t only about sleeping in a tent, it’s also about all the fun activities. Try our best camping toys for kids to help you turn your back garden sleepout into an outdoor family adventure.
There’s lots more to do and try at our Summer Camp. For more fun ideas on what to do, check out the best holiday activities to do at home.
Best camping toys for kids
Every camper needs a lamp and torch and Primary Science Solar Lantern is ideal for children aged three and up. Leave it in bright sunlight or under a light bulb to charge and enjoy up to 15 hours of light (every hour of charging supplies 30 minutes of light). Press the chunky orange button to turn it on or off. Use it to light up the tent or for campout story time.
The Pretend & Play Camp Set comes with all a preschooler needs for a pretend camping adventure. The nine-piece set includes a battery-powered lantern, canteen, stove and pan, snack box, space, watch and compass for survival in the pretend wilderness.
Create your own planetarium
Stargazing is the perfect camping activity and you can turn your camp site into a personal planetarium. To get started, read our beginner’s guide to stargazing and invest in outdoor exploration toys to inspire your young astronomer. You’ll need:
A telescope: For young children, try our GeoSafari Jr. My First Telescope which offers 10x magnification. It’s focus-free and features a comfy dual eyepiece so children don’t have to close one eye. It come with a portable stand that can be set up on a table or the ground.
Suitable for children aged eight and up GeoSafari® Vega 360 Telescope is a real working telescope that delivers clear, up close images at magnifications of 20x, 40x and 80x. It’s lightweight and portable and comes with a tabletop tripod and easy-to-use mount.
Projector: Beam a light show on the inside of the tent with Primary Science Shining Stars Projector. It beams images of space onto any surface and come with three projector discs featuring close-up views of stars and planets. It’s battery-operated and features an auto shut-off function.
Explore outdoors
Turn your home camp site into a mini safari adventure with Primary Science Headlamp Projector. It’s a child-friendly headlight and projector in one that beams images of wildlife onto any surface. The headlamp comes with two slides featuring pictures of a snake, toucan, gecko, leopard, zebra and more. The headlamp projects light over three meters, so it’s an ideal way to light up night-time adventures.
The GeoSafari Jr. Sneak & Peek Periscope is perfect for watching nature from a sneaky hideout! Kids can peek over a rock or under a tree, undetected. Flip on the LED light and watch nocturnal animals in the dark. The chunky handles and dual eye piece make it easy for children aged four and up to use.
Looking for more fun outdoor play toy ideas to keep your child busy and learning? Browse our range today.
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STEM Rainbow Bubble Snake Experiment
Everyone loves bubbles! Here’s a fun outdoor experiment idea: make your own rainbow bubble snakes using items from around your home. When you’re looking for science experiments for kids these holidays, this simple activity is easy to do and children of all ages can join in. Why not set up a family challenge to see who can make the longest, most colourful, or most original colour combination STEM rainbow bubble snake? Your family will enjoy this summer STEM experiment as you learn all about bubble science. The rainbow effect on the bubbles will look amazing on a sunny day.
Pro tips: It’s better to make your bubble mixture the day before because this gives the chemicals time to bond and make a stronger bubble mix. The food colouring in this experiment makes it messy so head outdoors. We used blue and yellow food colouring to make green, but you can experiment with as many colours as you like.
PS. Download your free Bubble Activity Sheet for more bubble learning fun.
How to do the STEM rainbow bubble snake experiment
You’ll need:
- An empty, clean plastic water bottle
- An old sock (An ideal opportunity to use up mismatched socks!)
- Elastic band
- A small shallow bowl or plate
- Liquid food colouring
- Scissors or a craft knife
- 250ml distilled water
- 2-3 tbsp washing up liquid
- Glycerine or corn syrup (optional)
1. Prepare the bubble mix
Pour 2-3 tablespoons of washing up liquid into the bowl or plate. Here’s the secret to super bubbles – adding glycerine or corn syrup makes the bubble mixture thicker and helps them last longer.
Pour about 250ml of water into the bowl. Distilled water is better as it doesn’t have high levels of minerals such as calcium, or iron. Stir well and allow the solution to sit for up to 24 hours before use.
2. Make the bubble snake maker
Use a pair of scissors or a craft knife (and adult supervision!) to carefully cut the bottom off the plastic bottle. Grown-ups, you’ll need to do the cutting if you have a younger child.
Stretch the sock over the bottle and secure using an elastic band, and then add a few drops of your favourite food colouring to the sock at the open end of the bottle. Next, dip the sock-covered end into the bubble solution.
Blow into the mouth of the plastic bottle and watch the colourful bubble snake emerge! The more you blow, the longer the snake becomes.
Pro tip: Remember to only blow out through the plastic bottle. Never breathe in or you might end up with a mouthful of soap. Yuk!
3. Dip and blow!
Blow into the mouth of the plastic bottle and watch the colourful bubble snake emerge! The more you blow, the longer the snake becomes.
Pro tip: Remember to only blow out through the plastic bottle. Never breathe in or you might end up with a mouthful of soap. Yuk!
For more STEM learning fun, put different dimension bottles to the test and see if it affects the snake length or duration of the bubbles.
For more summer outdoor fun, head to our free activity sheets for kids page where you’ll find more ideas and activities to get kids excited about heading outdoors to play and learn. Find printable colouring pages, summer camp activities, outdoor games for kids and more!
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