New Field Book of Nature Activities & Hobbies

I found this book at a used book store on my 12th birthday. I was one of the better presents I've ever received. It inspired my love of nature and the natural world, it got me outside and made me dream of having a rock collection of my very own. I would recommend this book for children ages 10-14 and adults interested in the natural world. It would be particularly useful in conjunction with a few of the Audubon field guides. The book is divided into two parts. Part I deals with reasons an individual may want to study the natural world and ways he/she could go about doing it. It outlines a plan for starting a nature observation club, going on field trips, creating nature trails, keeping a nature journal and setting up a nature workshop. The second part deals with specific activities within each of the natural sciences. It is set up rather oddly- animals having a section of their own, apart from sections about birds, reptiles, insects and water life. I suspect that the animals section was meant to be a section on mammals. This doesn't really affect its functionality though. Each section on living things contains a set of neat activities for observing the organism in it's natural habitat. The first section in part two is about birds and birding. It gives a detailed overview of birding techniques, ways to attract birds to your yard, how to photograph them and information about collecting bird feathers and eggshells. The second section is about animals, really about mammals. It tells you how to find wild animals, get close to them, clean a skeleton for your collection and even keep them as pets (not an activity recommended by me!). This book was published in the 50's after all, and that sort of thing wasn't as taboo then I suppose. The third section is about reptiles. Once again, this chapter teaches you how to keep wild reptiles in captivity. It would probably be best to use this information to keep domestic reptiles. Unless you're very experienced, handling wild animals isn't the smartest thing to do. The fourth and fifth sections are on insects and aquatic life respectively. They are quite like the previous chapters- they contain information on how to find animals, catch them, mount them for a collection and keep them in captivity. The next two sections, Flowers and Flowerless Plants and Trees really ought to be combined into one chapter. After all, trees are flowering or flowerless plants. Also, for some reason he includes mushrooms in the flowering plant chapter. Still, I can forgive Mr. Hillcourt because these chapters are my favorites. Here he describes methods for making a flower calender, growing a wildflower garden, making a leaf collection and many other interesting activities. The final three chapters deal with geologic studies, the weather and astronomy. Following the patern of previous sections, they describe how to observe natural phenomena, take notes and make collections for later study. Really,

I'm still using this book, and I'm 46 years old. I received it when I was 12, and found it full of wonderful, exciting adventures and activities. The 378 pages in my 1970 edition, contain activities you can do inside on a wet rainy day when you can't go outside, as well as plenty of things to do when the weather allows you to go outside. There are plenty of things for city kids, I didn't grow up in the `country.' I was able to see and identify many stars and there's a chart of the year's 9 major meteor showers (Perseid in Aug offers the easiest/best viewing). I used the fountains at the local park to find aquatic life forms and various algae. Birds were everywhere and became a life-long passion for me. I used the sidewalk outside the house to attract and capture ants. (Warning - although freezing the ants temporarily will slow down their mobility allowing you to view them more easily -oops, watch that timer or you'll freeze them to death! I still feel really badly about that accident.) I collected leaves, plant specimens, made fish prints, collected neat rocks and fossils and collected bugs, moths and butterflies - but I chose to let them all go free. All the activities are clearly marked - 1 dot meant I could do this activity on my own, 2 dots meant I'd need a little help from Dad, and 3 dots meant a larger undertaking, requiring equipment or something extra, in additiona to Dad's assistance. My edition had LOTS and LOTS of notes about places / books/ places to write to / places to visit to learn more about a topic of interest - with today's internet, it would be a breeze to find more information. My edition is water damaged from being in the field, moldy, warped, underlined and FILLED with happy notes of my DOING the activities, and my experiences. It's really fun to see over the years which activities remain as fun to do and how my experience of the activities have changed. My edition has (by today's standards) hilarious examples of still- and moving- picture cameras. I don't know if the new edition has newer examples of photography equipment. I love to share this book with all the children who come into my life, my nieces, my friends' children, etc. I'm buying a newly updated book as a gift for a friend's son who is 7 - the PERFECT age to further spark his budding (ha ha, sorry for the pun) interest in nature and science. If you yourself want to get back to nature and have some fun, even as an adult, this is the book for you. (BTW it's small and easily portable into the "field.") If you want to delight a child, spark an interest in the world around us, and perhaps 'turn them onto' science, I HIGHLY recommend this delightful, well-written, solid information (no inaccuracies nor dis-information)-please buy a copy. Perhaps this book is why I majored in both Biology and Chemistry in college?? Enjoy! Cathryn

This book is simply the best. It has nature activities in all areas of science. Trees, birds, insects, reptiles, amphibians, astronomy, animals, etc. A how-to guide for the amateur naturalist.