Today’s kids spend an average of 7.5 hours per day in front of a screen and are six times more likely to play a computer game than ride a bike. This physical inactivity is sending rates of obesity, diabetes, and other health concerns soaring. Help today’s kids discover the outdoors early in their lives and begin a lifetime of benefits – mental, physical, and spiritual – and build memories of shared adventures that will last a lifetime. Below are four lists, each with 10 seasonal activities your entire family can enjoy.

Check out the below links (green and underlined) to learn more about how each of these companies and programs is using technology to engage youth and adults in the Great Outdoors.

The Ruckus Nation idea competition tapped into the power of the global community — including kids — to generate new ideas for products to get kids moving. The competition was the first initiative in HopeLab’s work to develop fun, effective products that increase physical activity in young people to help address the devastating effects of sedentary behavior and obesity.

Zamzee is an online rewards program for young teens powered by their physical activity. To earn rewards, teens wear the Zamzee meter, a three-axis accelerometer specially calibrated to record short bursts of movement as well as vigorous activity. Physical activity recorded by the Zamzee meter powers a teen’s online account at Zamzee.com.

Treasure hunting meets every day walking! The world is full of fun, bizarre, and hidden objects - and even ordinary objects that we mostly ignore. Mobile Adventure Walks allows players to explore and find visible treasures - anytime, anywhere!

Get an introduction to the sport and find out how it works.

If you love the outdoors, it is only natural to teach your children about its wonders. Geocaching offers you a great way to do just that. It's a high-tech treasure hunt that can help engage your kids in the natural world.

GeoGames are electronic games implemented in a distributed peer-to-peer architecture using a scalable ad hoc geocast protocol to implement inter-player messaging. This design provides a low overhead message that is natural for this style of gaming. It allows us to design games for vigorous outdoor play any-where, including rural venues lacking network infrastructure and crowded venues such as campuses, stadiums, and down-town streets. This paper describes the GeoGames Architecture (GGA), examples of implemented GeoGames, and evaluates GGA’s strengths and limitations.

The My Parx app provides park visitors with the free access to quality information on parks, from local municipal parks through to state and national parks.

Recreation Research Websites

Boating

National Marine Manufactures Association www.nmma.org

Recreational Boat Building Industry www.rbbi.com

Hiking

American Hiking Society www.americanhiking.org

Skiing/Snowboarding

National Ski Areas Association www.nsaa.org

Recreation Vehicles

RVIA www.rvia.org

Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association www.rvserverdata.com

Snowmobiling

International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association www.snowmobile.org

Hunting

National Shooting Sports Foundation www.nssf.org

Fishing

US Census www.census.gov

Fish and Wildlife Service http://www.fws.gov/

American Sportfishing Association www.asafishing.org

General

Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association www.sgma.com

Outdoor Industry Association www.outdoorindustry.org

Forest Service www.srs.fs.usda.gov

American Sports Data www.americansportsdata.com

National Sporting Goods Association www.nsga.org

Helpful Links to Recreation Statistics

Idaho State Parks - Information on Idaho parks and forests visitation, registration of recreational vehicles in Idaho and recreation grant funding and more.

USDA Forest Service Recreation, Wilderness, Urban Forest,& Demographic Trends Research - Provides up-to-date information on public demands, perceptions, values, and benefits from outdoor recreation, wilderness, and urban forests and describe how local community conditions and demographic shifts will affect these resources.