This is another nature activity that I adapted for indoor use. When I lived in a New York City apartment, I practiced tracking my four cats and whatever urban wildlife strayed through my space.
I moved out of NYC when I began to recognize individual roaches. Once you recognize tiny tracks like that, cat tracks and people tracks are so much easier to spot.
Disclaimer: Choose your tracking box location carefully. The sand to fill it will likely weight half a ton, literally. Ideally you want the box to be accessible from all four sides and in an area that will not be needed for other living activities.
Materials for indoor tracking box:
- 4-foot long, 10-inches wide and 1-inch thick
- 2-foot long, 10-inches wide and 1-inch thick
- nails or brackets to hold the wood together and
- enough sand to fill the box 8-inches deep *
Materials for outdoor tracking box: ***
Optional:- Stakes, fishing wire or twine, bait to attract certain animals
Set Up:
1. Select an area that is level and accessible from all four sides
2. Outdoors:
- study the area for places animals might travel
- notice where leaves or other matter might fall into the box
- determine if you want the box in sun, shade or combination
3. Build the box
4. Put plastic liner along bottom
5. Put stakes on either end of the box
6. Tie wire or twine to stakes so it hangs over the box
7. Rake and smooth the sand, then begin studies
Tracking box study activities:
* SAND - I used builder sand, which is sold in 50-pound bags and is much cheaper than playground sand. It’s packaged, which is easier to work with. It takes a lot of water to moisten playground sand.
**BAIT - I had no trouble getting the cats into the box, but to keep them moving out of the box, rather than digging, I lured them with a treat.
*** If you have a level area outdoors, you do not need to build a tracking box. You can rake and smooth the area you wish to observe.
NOTE: I’m always looking for ways to improve projects and activities. Contact me with your results or if anything is unclear to you.
