6 Fall Nature Study Ideas for October

October, my favorite month, is finally here! The month of crisp weather, pumpkins and beautiful fall colors. If you want to get outside with your kids this month and explore nature, don’t worry because I’ve done all the planning and hard work for you!

Check out these nature study ideas for the month of October!

1. Pumpkins

Autumn is the perfect time to explore and investigate pumpkins – how they begin, how they’re pollinated, how they grow. There are so many fun ways to learn about pumpkins.

Pumpkin Dissection

Grab a pie pumpkin (or a large one if you wish), slice it in half and take a look at its parts. Note the flesh, the rind, the stem and the seeds. This is a great time to count seeds and compare different sizes and types of pumpkins! (Especially the colorful ones, the inside is often a surprise!)

Pumpkin Science Experiments and STEM Activities

One of our favorite pumpkin activities is the sink or float experiment. Explore why pumpkins (and people) float with this simple experiment. First, predict what you think will happen when you put pumpkins (in a variety of sizes) into a tub or sink of water. Do you think each pumpkin will float or sink? Now place each pumpkin in the water.

The reason why pumpkins – and people, for that matter – float was discovered hundreds of years ago by the ancient Greek scientist named Archimedes. Archimedes’ Principle, as it is called today, says that an object placed into a fluid will be pushed upwards by a force equal to the weight of the fluid it displaces. Since the pumpkin is less dense than the amount of water it displaces, the water is able to push the pumpkin up quite a bit, making it float. If the pumpkin was denser than the water, the water would not be able to generate enough upward force and the pumpkin would
sink. Pumpkins aren’t very dense because they are mostly hollow, with lots of air inside, making it easy for them to weigh less than the large amount of water they displace.

For more pumpkin science activities, check out the Pumpkins Nature Study in my shop!

The Pumpkin Life Cycle

Have you ever seen a baby pumpkin forming on the vine? Studying the pumpkin life cycle is a great way to learn more about how pumpkins (and other squashes) form.

Our Favorite Picture Books About Pumpkins

{Click on the books for more info!}

2. Bats (And a FREE Download!)

What’s more iconic for October than bats? I actually think these fascinating little mammals are incredibly cool. Dive into the world of the Little Brown Bat with these FREE printables.

Picture Books About Bats

{Click on the books for more info!}

3. Fall Leaves

We love all the colorful leaves this time of year, and it’s the perfect time to explore trees and leaves. It’s also a great time to explore chlorophyll.

Chlorophyll is a green pigment found in plants that turns the sun’s energy into the chemical energy stored in food. In autumn, when the days shorten and temperatures drop, the chlorophyll begins to break down. Once the green chlorophyll is gone, what’s left is the underlying yellow and orange pigments. As the leaves prepare to separate from their branches, the sugars and tannins become trapped, leaving red or purple pigments.

Leaf Chromatography Experiment

In this experiment, you’ll be able to visualize different pigments from fall leaves in a special way.
You Will Need:

• Leaves (preferably different colors; you can use different shades of green if needed)
• Small glass jars or bowls
• Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol)
• White coffee filters, large size
• Scissors
• Wooden spoon

First, go on a scavenger hunt for fall leaves. Cut the leaves into smaller pieces, or tear them with your hands, and sort them by color (green, orange, red, etc.) into separate jars. You will need a jar for each color. Use a wooden spoon to mash up the leaf pieces inside the jar.

Add isopropyl alcohol to each jar until the leaves are covered and mix gently. Cut the coffee filter into long strips. Place one end of the strip into the isopropyl alcohol, allowing the rest to drape over the top of the jar. Do this for each jar.

Now leave the jars alone and check back regularly to see the coffee filters turn different colors, It might take a few hours or up to overnight.

In this experiment, the pigments of the leaves are absorbed by the coffee filter so we can see their colors in a fun and different way. Some pigments stick to water molecules better than others, so they travel higher up the coffee filter.

Make Leaf Rubbings

Gather some fresh leaves and place one below each square on a piece of paper, vein side up. Rub the side of an unwrapped crayon over each leaf to create leaf rubbings. Can you guess the leaf types?

Make Leaf Creatures

Some glue, googley eyes, and leaves are all you need to make these adorable leaf animals. Arrange some fall leaves on a piece of paper to create your own imaginary creatures. Use a glue stick or glue to adhere them to the paper. Attach googley eyes to bring your leaf creatures to life!

Learn more about Autumn trees and leaves in the Autumn Journal.

Picture Books About Fall Leaves

{Click on the books for more info!}

4. Owls

Have you heard any owls in the night by you? This time of year we always hear them calling to each other at night. There are so many fun ways to explore owls, but one of our favorites is dissecting owl pellets.

Owl Pellet Dissection

Owl pellets are the regurgitated bits of an owl’s prey that they cannot digest – like fur, feathers and bones – and while to some it may sound gross, we find it fascinating to see what creatures were once an owl’s breakfast.

You can order owl pellets on Amazon. Just make sure your students wear gloves during the dissection.

Our Favorite Picture Books About Owls

{Click on the books for more info!}

5. Spiders and Spiderwebs

In the late summer and fall, spiders can be easily seen building their webs. What better time to explore spiders than in October?

Orb weavers use a special step-by-step process to build sturdy webs. Learn what this process is with my Spiders Nature Study or have your students try making their own webs!

Build a Spiderweb

Try your hand at making a web just like an orb weaver.

Begin with a black sheet of construction paper, turned horizontally. Glue sticks vertically on the left and right sides of the paper, leaving room to draw your web in between.

Using chalk or a chalk marker, follow the steps in the web diagram to draw your web. Use a pencil for the auxiliary spiral, then trace with a chalk marker to create the capture spiral. Finish by gluing a plastic spider to the paper.

Picture Books About Spiders

{Click on the books for more info!}

6. Fungi

If you didn’t get around to exploring fungi last month, October is still a great time for it.

How to Make Spore Prints

Have you ever made spore prints? It’s a simple, hands-on way to explore the wonderful world of fungi. Just select a few mushrooms from the woods (or the grocery store if you’re having trouble finding some in the wild) and place them gill- or pore-side down on a clean sheet of paper. Feel free to experiment with white and black paper (some varieties have white spore prints that show up better on black paper.)

Sprinkle a drop or two of water on top of the mushrooms, then cover with a glass bowl for 6-24 hours. Once the time has passed, carefully lift your mushroom to reveal its unique spore print.

**Toxic mushrooms only cause harm when ingested, but it’s always a good idea to have your students wash their hands after handing wild mushrooms. Never eat a wild mushroom unless you are 100% sure you know it’s safe to consume.**

Check out this article for lots of mushroom nature study ideas, fungi picture books, a FREE Fungi Coloring page, plus our favorite fungi picture books!

And for further study, take a look at the Fungi Nature Study unit in my Autumn Journal.

Our Favorite Picture Books About Fungi

{Click on the books for more info!}