Kids 4 to 11 years old are invited to join the Nature Detectives, an interactive and engaging way to foster children’s appreciation of nature.
Nature Detectives Kids Club
Mystery Guides
Join the club by participating in self-guided tours and activities. Each Mystery Guide takes you on an exploration of a specific open space property. Kids do not need any special knowledge or equipment – just curious minds and a sense of adventure.
Guide Features
- Activities that highlight the natural surroundings and history of each location
- Map
- Four to six mysteries to solve
Earn Prizes
- Complete a Mystery Guide and earn a prize and a certificate
- The prize will be something they can use for their future outdoor explorations
Parks with Mystery Guides
The following parks have Mystery Guides available at the trailheads.
- Agricultural Heritage Center
- Bald Mountain
- Betasso Preserve
- Caribou Ranch
- Carolyn Holmberg Preserve at Rock Creek
- Heil Valley Ranch
- Mud Lake
- Pella Crossing
- Walden Ponds
No need to print out the Mystery Guides as they are usually available at trailheads.
Return completed Mystery Guides at Nature Detective Club mailboxes at trailheads. Families and groups may request Mystery Guides by calling 303-678-6201.
A mystery awaits, detectives… so get out there, and have fun!
Email Signup
Sign up to receive a monthly email with information about upcoming activities such as Kids Fishing Clinics, Jr Ranger Adventures and other special events for kids and families.
Nature Detectives Library
Want to learn about plants, weather, geology, local history or animals? Take a look at Nature Detectives, an insert for kids that is part of every issues of Images, the magazine of Boulder County Parks and Open Space.
The inserts are also great resources for grown-ups (teachers, scout leaders and parents) working with kids. Students and all curious nature-lovers can use it as a resource for papers, science projects, or just a fun way to learn.
| Title | Year | Keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Squadron of Pelicans | 2018 | American white pelicans, migration, nesting, habitats, bills, predators, prey, cooperative foraging, colonies, courtship, territory defense, eggs, incubation, hatchlings, fledglings, adaptations, pouch |
| Downy and Hairy, the Woody Look-alikes | 2017 | woodpeckers, birds, identifying, habitats, mixed flocks, predators, defenses, prey, camouflage, adaptations, beaks, bills, feathers, nest holes, drumming, tapping, communication, shelter, foods, sap, tongues, snags, suet, feeders |
| Bull Snakes Are Awe-sssss-some | 2017 | predators, prey, hibernation, senses, smell, constrictors, habitat, dens, ecosystem, ectotherms, body temperature, keratin, scales, diet, food, gopher, jaws, eggs, babies, hatchlings, life cycle, shedding, snakeskin, camouflage, defenses, chemosensation, taste, slither, activity |
| Wasps With Paper Houses and Bad Reputations | 2017 | hornets, yellow jackets, paper wasps, stinger, nest, colony, workers, queens, drones, metamorphosis, egg, larva, pupa, predator, prey, venom, scavengers, life cycle, defenses, solitary, balanced ecosystem, pollinators, activity |
| Muskrat Swims Home | 2017 | rodents, tails, beavers, rats, voles, Algonquian, runways, tracks, adaptations, webbed, feet, lodges, tunnels, dens, feeding, platforms, habitat, beneficial, teeth, predators, prey, wetlands, underwater, cattails, babies, kits, territory, scent glands, dr |
| Ptalking…um, that is…Talking About Ptarmigans | 2016 | white-tailed, camouflage, predators, prey, habitat, alpine, tundra, willows, seasons, molting, foods, grouse, nesting, babies, eggs, adaptations, feathers, activity |
| Sweet Dreams, Yellow-Bellied Marmot | 2016 | hibernation, ground squirrels, burrows, dens, tunnels, food, estivation, habitat, predators, prey, babies, life cycle, colony, communication, social, scent glands, whistles, territory, activity, rodents, teeth, incisors |
| Roly-poly Roundup | 2016 | pill bug, exoskeleton, sow bug, isopods, gills, pouch, life cycle, eggs, babies, survival, molt, conglobate, habitat, senses, food, decomposers, defenses, camouflage, predators, prey, observation |
| Wake Up Turtle, It’s Spring | 2016 | snapping, painted, hibernation, basking, eggs, nests, predators, prey, life cycle, camouflage, defenses, foods, habitats, ectotherms, scutes, carapace, plastron, activity, observation |
| Star Light, Star Bright, Let’s Find Some Stars Tonight! | 2015 | Sun, Earth’s rotation, constellations, Big Dipper, Polaris, North Star, Orion, Rigel, Betelgeuse, Canis Major, Sirius, Taurus the Bull, Aldebaran, observation, activity |
| Grasshoppers Have An Age-old Bad Reputation | 2015 | fables, eggs, nymphs, life cycle, winter survival, sounds, senses, compound eyes, molt, food, camouflage, slant-faced, spur-throated, banded-wing, predators, prey, defenses, observation |
| Questing for Kestrels | 2015 | predators, prey, raptors, talons, beaks, falcons, habitat, defenses, eyespots, flight, flying, hovering, windhover, sparrow hawk, foods, adaptations, nests, babies, kiting, kites |
| Leaping Leopard Frogs & Croaking Chorus Frogs | 2015 | camouflage, calling, air sacks, life cycle, eggs, tadpoles, polliwogs, gills, predators, prey, tails, metamorphosis, senses, swallowing, habitats, skin, hibernation, defenses, activities, sounds, ectotherms, freezing, body temperature |
| How a Meadow Jumping Mouse Named Preble’s Got So Famous | 2014 | threatened, habitat loss, specialist, generalist, deer mice, feet, predators, prey, tails, defenses, hibernation, nests, burrows, life cycle, food, senses, survival, floods, activity |
| The Truth About Wild Turkeys | 2014 | birds, habitats, roosts, predators, prey, defenses, flight, calls, flocks, foods, feathers, camouflage, nests, activity |
| Mayflies, Stoneflies, Caddisflies Galore | 2014 | insects, dipper, nymph, water, fly fishing, hatch, larvae, metamorphosis, molt, life cycle, cocoon, swarm, drumming, predator, prey, pollution, streams, underwater viewer, word search |
| Dig Badger Dig | 2014 | coyotes, predators, prey, prairie dogs, burrows, tunnels, food, shelter, habitats, babies, defenses, adaptations, activity, observations, claws, tracks |
| A Red-tailed Hawk Named Kaya | 2013 | Birds of Prey Foundation, rehabilitation, injuries, babies, predators, hunting, food, raptors, talons, beaks, adaptations, rodents, flight, eyesight, habitats, migration, territory, nests, camouflage, observations, activity |
| Awesome Quaking Aspen Trees | 2013 | leaves, fall color, roots, clones, seeds, photosynthesis, bark, habitats, wildlife, succession plants, writing activity, observations |
| Looking for Little Lizards | 2013 | camouflage, lagartija, push-up, communication, body language, scales, ectotherm, hibernation, short-horned, six-lined, racerunner, red-lipped, prairie, predator, prey, tails, adaptations, senses, defenses, habitats, observations, experiments |
| Funny Fox Squirrels: Two Pounds of Mischief | 2013 | rodents, introduced species, habitats, predators, prey, feet, defenses, eyes, senses, incisors, teeth, tails, chickarees, pine squirrels, Abert’s squirrels, food, shelter, nests, survival, observations |
| Bison Are Not Boring | 2012 | buffalo, survival, defenses, predators, habitats, calves, herds, wallows, body shape, cowbirds, Native Americans, tribes, activity |
| Eye to Eye with a Praying Mantis | 2012 | bugs, insects, defenses, predators, prey, camouflage, compound eyes, senses, survival, eggs, nymphs, molting, exoskeleton, mantises, ground mantids, observation |
| Catching Bobcats | 2012 | wildlife biologists, wildcats, trapping, research, predators, prey, radio collars, camouflage, habitat, rabbits, diet, adaptations, dens, play, lynx, tracks, signs, scat, scrapes |
| Drums of Spring | 2012 | birds, woodpeckers, communication, calls, northern, red-shafted, songs, feathers, tongues, predators, prey, nests, holes, flight, foods, ants, competition, habitat loss, activities |
| Tails Talk | 2011 | animals, communication, defenses, predators, prey, body language, movement, physiology, camouflage, adaptations, activity |
| Way to Go, Seeds! | 2011 | plants, dispersal, sprouting, growth, activities, animals, adaptations, foods |
| Summertime Turkey Vultures | 2011 | birds, flying, feathers, migration, scavengers, senses, carrion, adaptations, predators, prey, flight, defenses, nests, pellets |
| A Few Minutes in the Life of a Pocket Gopher – | 2011 | tunnels, habitats, ecosystem, senses, defenses, predators, prey, rodents, adaptations |
| Snow Dust | 2010 | snowflakes, crystals, ice, water vapor, clouds, wildlife, predators, prey, camouflage, experiment |
| Show Time for Antlers | 2010 | elk, bugling, horns, bighorn sheep, deer, moose, mountain goats, pronghorn, velvet, bones, keratin, defense |
| What’s the Big Deal about Nature? Plenty! | 2010 | air, plants, oxygen, water, wetlands, foods, crops, scavengers, shelter, outside, outdoors, observations, activities, wildlife |
| Dabbling and Diving into Spring | 2010 | ducks, dabblers, divers, coots, adaptations, webbed feet, bills, beaks, flight, flying |
| Snowshoe Hares – Winter Rabbits | 2009 | predators, prey, feet, camouflage, sub-alpine, survival, habitat, rabbits, jackrabbits, cottontail, senses, defenses, signs, tracks, adaptations |
| Bee Thankful | 2009 | honey, pollen, crops, native, pollination, beeswax, beehives, hives, farm, senses, wax, life cycle, metamorphosis, predators, defenses, wasps, yellowjackets, pesticides, dancing |
| Don’t Shrug Off Shrubs | 2009 | foods, shelter, bushes, scrub, habitat, wildlife, seeds, fruits, shrubland, signs, skunkbush, three-leaf sumac, antelope bitterbrush, mountain mahogany, observations |
| Spring Brings Snowmelt | 2009 | water, flow, drinking water, water cycle, source, habitats, experiment, observations |
| Bald Eagle Challenge | 2008 | threatened, habitat loss, raptors, pesticides, predators, prey, senses, nests, hunting, flying, wings, flight |
| Time to Bring in the Crops | 2008 | harvests, farms, crops, bees, squirrels, chickarees, pikas, predators, prey, jays, Clark’s nutcrackers, seeds |
| Why, Oh Why, Cacti? | 2008 | prickly pear, habitats, defenses, succulent, bees, plants, mountain ball, flowers, fruit, winter survival, observations, cactus, foods |
| Tiger Salamander Heads to Her Pond | 2008 | dragons, amphibians, life cycle, predators, prey, metamorphosis, ectotherms, senses, camouflage, defenses, hibernation, burrows, habitats, folk tales |
| Porcupine: A Prickly Critter | 2007 | quills, Arapaho, rodents, defenses, predators, prey, senses, guard hairs, habitat, adaptations |
| Rattle-tattle Rattlesnake | 2007 | snakes, predators, prey, venom, rattles, pit vipers, senses, fangs, jousting, hibernation, camouflage, defenses |
| Life in the Zone | 2007 | plants, climate, temperature, wildlife, habitat, mountains, vegetation, treelines, plains, grasslands, foothills, montane, subalpine, alpine, prairie, insects, forests |
| What is a Nature Detective? | 2007 | senses, wonder, journal, sound map, wildlife, animals, plants, weather, observation |
| Who Are You Calling a Weasel? | 2006 | predators, prey, long-tailed, short-tailed, mustelids, musk glands, camouflage, ermine, tracks |
| Farming for Food and Wildlife | 2006 | coyotes, habitats, farmers, ranchers, human disturbance, corridors, mammals, birds, snakes, insects, hedgerows, crops, agriculture |
| Do You Guess Kingfisher or Great Blue Heron? | 2006 | birds, fish, predators, prey, habitats, nests, migration, adaptations |
| Silly Names: Snow Fleas and Mourning Cloaks | 2006 | springtails, butterflies, insects, leaf litter, tree sap, predators, defenses, camouflage, hibernation |
| Ponderosa Pine Forest: mmm smells like ice cream | 2005 | trees, forest, smells, sap, pines, conifers, roots, fire, beetles, mistletoe, Abert’s, squirrels, tassel-eared, witch’s broom, truffles, fungus, birds, habitats, activity |
| Can a Plant Become a Rock? | 2005 | coal, Hopi, mining, miners, lignite, sub-bituminous, seams, fires, Coal Creek |
| Osprey, That’s What! | 2005 | prey, predators, birds, fish hawks, pellets, nests, migration, reservoir |
| Moose Not Meese | 2005 | deer, antlers, Algonquin, predators, prey, defenses, babies, adaptations, habitats |
| Resourceful Ravens and their Relatives | 2004 | crows, jays, corvids, folktales, foods, predators, prey, magpies, intelligence, Clark’s nutcrackers, cached, calls, imitation, body language, experiment, flight |
| Nocturnal Animals and Night Vision | 2004 | senses, eye shine, tapetum, diurnal, night, predators, habitat, behavior, activity, sight, rods, cones, experiments, eyeshine |
| Butterflies Flutter By | 2004 | wings, scales, pollinators, pollen, moths, nectar, foods, camouflage, defenses, caterpillars, insects, silk, chrysalis, predators, puddling, experiment |
| Cottonwood Trees – Discovering a Special Plant | 2004 | Lewis, Clark, Corps of Discovery, bark, Mandan tribe, habitat, plains, narrowleaf, riparian, animals, foods, catkins, experiments |
| Wise as an Owl | 2003 | great horned owls, animal sayings, camouflage, calls, hooting, feathers, talons, prey, predators, eyes, ears, pellets, nests |
| Loveable Ladybugs | 2003 | ladybird beetles, aphids, migration, mountains, insects, metamorphosis, eggs, larvae, exoskeleton, pupa, foods, defenses, predators, experiment |
| Go Fish | 2003 | fishing gear, foods, hooks, line, poles, bait, lures, bobbers, pan, bluegills, crappies, sunfish, angling, anglers, swim bladder, gills, scales, slime, habitat |
| The Wonder of Wildflowers | 2003 | pasqueflower, plants, shelter, snow, glacier lilies, buttercups, hairs, seeds, violets, roses, survival, scientific names, play, story |
| Making Friends with Chickadees, Nuthatches and Wrens | 2002 | experiment, spishing, squeaking, birds, calls, songs, nest boxes, bird house plans, house sparrows, foods, eat |
| Sensational Spiders | 2002 | silk, spinnerets, webs, exoskeleton, wolf, jumping, black widow, dragline |
| Cool Facts about Garter Snakes | 2002 | hibernation, ectotherms, experiment, western, plains, scales, shedding, prey, predator, defenses, basking, reptiles |
| Proverbs for Rainy Weather | 2002 | weather prediction, rain, water vapor, evaporation, clouds, experiments, ants, folk tales |
| Tracking Down Wildlife Visitors | 2001 | animal tracks, neighborhood, city, urban, skunks, raccoons, racoons, fox squirrels, cottontail rabbits, red foxes, habitats |
| Stamping with Grass | 2001 | grasslands, plains, prairies, postage, stamps, habitats, climate, grazing, pioneers, settlers, cattle, farming, weather, roots, pollination, fire, drought, prairie dogs, bison, foods, experiment |
| Crow’s Quest for Fire | 2001 | wildfire, forest, succession, folk tales |
| Earthworms Recycle | 2001 | worms, plants, castings, tunnels, soil, predators, experiments |
| What Are the Geese Honking About? | 2000 | goose, flight, migration, feathers |
| The Buzz About Bees | 2000 | honey, solitary, pollination, wasps, parasites, bumble, hibernation, nests |
| Dramas in the Night Sky | 2000 | stars, constellations, Big Dipper, Orion, Cassiopeia, outer space, moon, myths |
| How Turtle Flew South for the Winter | 1999 | migration, hibernation, ponds, ecosystems, frogs, beavers, muskrats, fish, plants, wildlife, observations, folk tales |
| The Power of Water | 1999 | erosion, floods, geology, rock formations, rivers, caves, sand dunes, wind |
| Fluttering Shadows in the Night | 1999 | bats, mammals, echolocation |
| A Flight of Fantasy | 1999 | hawks, predators, prey, red-tailed, Swainson’s, rough-legged, migration, paper glider |
| Sticks and Stones and Woven Homes | 1998 | nests, birds, squirrels, wasps, killdeer, owl, eagle, hummingbird, robin, oriole, predators, prey |
| Tremendous Trees | 1998 | leaves, fall color, bark, spruce, fir, pine, willows, aspen, cottonwood, observations |
| Nature’s Engineers | 1998 | beavers, dams, meadows, lodges, ponds, nocturnal, extinction |
| Choppers and Hoppers — Who Are We? | 1998 | rodents, incisors, hibernation, squirrels, jumping mice, porcupines, prairie dogs, beavers |
| What Do They Do in Winter | 1997 | hibernation, ptarmigan, turtles, torpor, survival, ladybugs, toads, boreal |
| Looking into the Prairie | 1997 | grasslands, habitats, plains, prairies, fires, bison, grasses, prairie dogs, predators, prey, burrowing owl, settlers, pioneers, Native Americans, sod houses |
| Stalking the Elephanthead | 1997 | wild flowers, plants, scientific names, ponderosa, pines, milkweed, kinnikinnik, habitats, settlers, pioneers, aspen, grasses, fireweed, plant key |
| The Ever-Changing Earth | 1997 | geology, uplift, erosion, geologic change, rocks, igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic, fountain formation, mountains, minerals, Flatirons |
| Fire! | 1996 | forest, wildfire, animals, ecosystems, cycles, Native Americans, succession, foods, insects, plants, seeds, decomposition |
| The Life of a Ponderosa | 1996 | pines, trees, ecosystems, life cycle, insects, animals, habitats |
| Tales of the Alpine Tundra | 1996 | ecosystems, adaptations, treeline, marmots, pikas, habitats, hibernation, krummholz, ptarmigan, plants, glaciers, erosion, experiment, rocks |
| Natural Inventions | 1996 | tools, adaptations, insects, animals |
| Patterns in Nature | 1995 | tracks, camouflage, spiders, webs, leaves, tree rings, rocks, geology, clouds, pine beetles |
| Everyday Art | 1995 | Native Americans, tribes, tools, artists, pottery, baskets, pots, weaving, hides, clothing, leather, quills, paints, painting, tipis, tepees, teepees, petroglyphs, pictographs, dyes |
| Little Burrow on the Prairie | 1995 | prairie dogs, rodents, adaptations, predators, prey, mammals, tunnels, communication, habitats, ecosystems, foods, survival, calls, bubonic, plague, defenses |
| Butterfly Days | 1995 | insects, gardens, nectar, habitats, flowers, metamorphosis, chrysalis, monarch, migration, camouflage, defenses, senses |
| Wind | 1994 | air, temperatures, clouds, wind chill, activities, energy |
| Who Whoo!! | 1994 | owls, birds, senses, nocturnal, predators, prey, pellets, feathers, nesting, great horned, burrowing |
| Twinkle, Twinkle! | 1994 | stars, moon, planets, sun, earth, rotation, activities, seasons, day, Polaris, poles, north, south, constellations, myths, meteors |
| Wild About Worms | 1994 | earthworms, plants, castings, tunnels, soil, predators, worm bin |
| Out We Go! | 1993 | activities, observations, tunnels, tracks, insects, snow, animals |
| Too Much Trash! | 1993 | garbage, recycling, animals, insects, decomposition, rotting, soil, nutrients, composting, landfills, dumps, biodegrade, recycle, reduce, reuse, activities, worms |
| Leaves | 1993 | activities, trees, photosynthesis, conifers, deciduous, evergreens, needles, animals, insects |
| Getting Around | 1992 | observations, animals, adaptations, activities, snowshoe, hare, rats, wings, bats, mammals, snakes, worms, shells, insects |
| Super Seeds | 1992 | plants, sprouting, growth, dispersal, activities, foods, animals |
| Animal Babies | 1992 | animals, habitats, nests, young, babies, foods, life cycles, food chain, ponds, metamorphosis, predators, prey, precocial, altricial, nests, great horned, owls, mice, activities |
| Story Time! | 1991 | folk tales, animals, activities, stories, Native Americans, myths |
| Teeth Talk | 1991 | animals, adaptations, foods, observations, tooth |
| Amazing Insects | 1991 | crustaceans, roly-polys, pillbugs, praying mantis, predators, prey, activities, foods, mouths, bugs, ants |
| Listen to the Animals | 1990 | communication, language, sounds, calls, songs, observations, hearing |
| Cattails | 1990 | plants, seeds, habitats, wetlands, nests, marsh, foods, Native Americans, animals, insects, muskrats, birds, camouflage, activities |
| Wild Neighbors! | 1990 | animals, habitats, city, nocturnal, towns, nests, activities |
| Birds in Winter | 1989 | survival, migration, adaptations, feeders, observations, foods |
| Predator and Prey | 1989 | animals, insects, foods, birds, spiders, teeth, survival, defenses, camouflage, adaptations |
| Recycle It! | 1989 | recycling, wildfire, fires, forests, beetles, activities, insects, soil, garbage, composting, animals, decomposition, rotting, nutrients, worms, life cycle |
| Raccoon Round-up | 1988 | racoons, animals, mammals, teeth, survival, adaptations, foods, omnivores, activities |
| Ready, Set, GROW! | 1988 | plants, energy, sun, foods, photosynthesis, chlorophyll, animals, carbohydrates, leaves, activities, wildflowers, food chain |
| Vision | 1987 | senses, sight, animals, adaptations, eyeshine, activities, predators, prey, defenses, camouflage, patterns |
| Journeys | 1987 | animals, foxes, migration, crossbills, butterflies, monarch, birds, bird banding, seeds |
| Fur, Feathers, Slime and Scales | 1987 | animals, skin, scales, molting, feathers, fur |
| Animal Families | 1987 | animals, Canada geese, spiders, bats, sunfish, beetles, turtles, raccoons, young, babies |
| Snow & Ice | 1986 | flakes, crystals, algae, glaciers, observations, tunnels, animals, snowshoes |
| Insects | 1986 | ladybugs, dragonflies, fleas, life cycles |
| Fossils | 1986 | geology, rocks, dinosaurs, coal, oil, rock formations, ancient, animals |
| Night and Day | 1986 | animals, habitats, night, day, fungi, insects, roosting, birds, bats, adaptations, predators, prey, senses, owls, pellets, butterflies, moths, activities, nocturnal |
| Animals in Winter | 1985 | survival, hibernation, camouflage, predators, prey, migration, tracks, activities |
| Fall Festivals | 1985 | constellations, activities, bats, skeletons, bones, teeth, animals, foods |
| Camouflage | 1985 | animals, bittern, defenses, butterflies, deer, eggs, spiders, survival |
| Forests | 1985 | trees, ponderosa, pines, ecosystems, habitats, fir, spruce, aspens, squirrels, chickarees, pinedrops, orchids, tree rings, timberline, bark, activities |
| Animal Homes | 1984 | observations, shelters, wasps, beavers, swallows, caterpillars, orioles, caddis flies, activities |
| Fields and Meadows | 1984 | habitats, ecosystems, grasslands, plains, prairies, grasses, animals, prairie dogs, towns, tunnels, burrows, voles, runways, observations, sod houses, grasshoppers |
| Ponds and Puddles | 1984 | habitats, ecosystems, wetlands, water, animals, Native Americans, cattails, observations, amphibians, frogs, reptiles, birds, dip net, life cycles, activities |