Keep on Tracking

Name and Purpose

• Keep on Tracking builds nature literacy by having players make and read real animal track patterns.
• Teams develop close observation, research skills, and an understanding of how animals move through their environment.

a.k.a.

• Track Detectives, Animal Track Challenge

Age / Group / Time / Space

• Ages 8-16 | 6-30 players in teams of 3 | 20-35 minutes | Sandy or soft-earth area with a separate patch per team

Materials

• Animal name cards: raccoon, rabbit, deer, squirrel, wolf, weasel, fox, otter, bear, mink
• Optional: animal track reference guide (printed cards or a field guide)
• Sticks or fingers for drawing tracks in sand

Quick-Run Card

1. Divide into teams of 3. Each team draws an animal card.
2. Teams go to their sandy patch and create the footprint pattern of their animal.
3. Teams return to the starting point.
4. As a group, visit each patch and try to identify the animal.
5. Tally correct guesses. Debrief on how track patterns reveal movement and behaviour.

Setup and Boundaries

• Assign each team a clearly separate sandy patch before play begins
• Signal: 1 whistle = time to return to start
• Check patches for sharp objects before play

How to Play

1. Divide players into teams of 3. Each team draws one animal name card without showing other teams.
2. Teams go to their assigned sandy area and study the track reference guide if available.
3. Teams create as accurate a set of footprints as possible for their animal using hands, sticks, or feet.
4. At the whistle, all teams return to the starting point and leave their patch untouched.
5. As a full group, rotate through each patch. Teams study the prints and write down their guess.
6. Once all patches are visited, share guesses and reveal the correct animals.
7. Tally correct identifications. The team with the most correct answers wins the round.

I-OPt Options

• A (Active): Create the tracks physically in the sandy area
• S (Support): Research the track pattern using the reference guide and direct the track-makers
• Q (Quiet): Make notes and sketches of other teams’ tracks during the identification walk
• O (Observer): Walk the identification circuit and share observations without committing a guess

Inclusion Adaptations

• Teams can use a stick to draw tracks rather than pressing hands or feet into sand
• Reference guides with photos allow players who are unfamiliar with local animals to participate fully

Stewardship Moment

• After play: “What does a real set of animal tracks tell us about that animal’s life?”
• Smooth out the sand patches before leaving so the area looks as it did before play

Consent

• Pre-brief: “This activity involves pressing into sand to make animal tracks. For those not comfortable touching the sand, the researcher and note-taker roles are equally important.”
• Mid-game check: after track creation, quick thumbs up or sideways before the identification walk begins
• Opt-out/re-entry: any player can shift to the researcher or note-taker role between rounds

Risks and Mitigation

• Sharp objects in sand: sweep each patch before play
• Teams peeking at other patches before the identification phase: keep patches separated and out of sightlines where possible

Warm-Up Suggestions

• “Walk Like Your Animal”: each team spends 30 seconds walking like the animal on their card before creating tracks
• “Track Quiz”: show a photo of two or three animal tracks and ask the group to guess the animal before the game begins

Debrief Questions

• What? “Which animal track was hardest to make accurately, and why?”
• So What? “What can a tracker tell about an animal’s behaviour just from its footprints?”
• Now What? “Next time you are outside, what will you look for on the ground?”

Cleanup and Reset

• Smooth all sandy patches back to a natural state
• Collect all animal cards and reference guides
• 60-second space sweep