I still remember when my sixth grade science teacher took us outside, gave us each a block of wood and a magnifying glass, and showed us how to harness the sun’s energy to burn our zodiac sign into wood.

Sure, the zodiac thing dates me (I’m a Cancer, an unfortunately named sign if there ever was one). But I feel fortunate to have grown up when field trips and outdoor education were still a vital part of hands-on science education.

In his 2008 book “Last Child in the Woods,” Richard Louv describes what happens when an entire generation of young people becomes disconnected from the natural world: they can identify hundreds of corporate logos and dozens of Pokémon characters but have trouble (according to a 2002 British study) naming “otter, beetle, and oak tree.”

Louv also coined the evocative (if alarmist) term “nature-deficit disorder,” which is meant to suggest a syndrome suffered by society at large, rather than a diagnosis applied to individuals. But we as individuals can fight against it, by getting out from behind the computers and gameboys and into the wider natural world.

The movement to reverse the tide of this ‘disorder’ is growing. There’s even a bill before the U.S. Senate to pass the No Child Left Inside Act. The name of the act is, of course, a play on the “No Child Left Behind” Act of 2001, which has led to schools sacrificing subjects such as environmental education, social studies, and science to spend more time teaching to high-stakes reading and math tests. Field trips and outdoor learning activities have also been cut in the quest to prepare students for the all-important standardized tests.

But don’t wait for federal legislation: make an effort to get the kids (and yourself) outside right now. Real-life lessons learned in the fresh air seem to “stick” in ways that classroom learning doesn’t. Focus on what’s most evident on a glorious summer day–the sun–and use it to make a sun print or to tell time with the sun. Keep cool with a water pressure blaster that’s almost as much fun as having your own fire hose. We’ve even got a how-to video of the Blaster activity.

SMILE’s July e-newsletter focused outdoor science. Sign up for the newsletter or see a sample newsletter.

Blast from the past

Remember when zodiac signs and outdoor education were still important?

The art of decorating a material with burn marks is called pyrography — “writing with fire.” It can be done using a tip heated by fire or electricity, or by focusing sunlight through a lens. The bigger the lens, the bigger the burn mark. Fine detail can be done using a small lens.

Retro wood-burning shots from Mother Earth News.