5 Apps That Will Get Your Kid Outside 

As warmer weather comes around the corner, many parents will find themselves urging their kids to get outside and enjoy the sunshine. But sometimes the pull of phones, tablets, and TVs will keep kids glued to screens even on the most gorgeous of days. Our solution? Use their tech to your advantage to get them outside! We’ve pulled together the best five apps that will encourage kids to take their tech outside and explore the world around them. Let’s take a look! 

Bark’s Top 5 Picks for Apps That Will Get Your Kid Outside

Pokemon Go 

This interactive Pokemon-themed app went viral a decade ago, but it’s still a favorite pastime for tons of families. The objective is simple: Use the camera in the app to find virtual Pokemon characters hidden around town. You could find a Bulbasaur in your backyard or a Charmander at the park all while getting in your steps. Can you catch ‘em all?

Seek

You’ve heard the saying, “Stop and smell the roses” — now, there’s an app for that! Or at least an app to identify what type of rose or flower you’re smelling. Seek can identify over 80,000 species, so your child is guaranteed to learn all about the plants, flowers, and vegetation right in your neighborhood. For all the budding scientists out there, this outside app is a great find. 

Skyview Lite

If your kid is more interested in natural phenomena above their head than under their feet, then they may want to check out Skyview Lite. Instead of identifying plants, kids can point their cameras to the skies to learn more about planets, constellations, and other celestial bodies. With an easy interface and no social media features, parents have nothing to worry about. Just pure fun in the stars! 

Adventure Lab 

Have you ever heard of geocaching? If not, it’s essentially a modern-day treasure hunt where you use your phone’s GPS to find “caches” (usually small boxes or containers) hidden all over the world. While many consider this an already family-friendly activity, Adventure Lab provides an even safer, more guided geocaching experience for families. 

Instead of finding physical containers, Adventure Lab has you find virtual “labs” and at each location, you’ll interact with the lab in some way. Sometimes it’s learning some history, taking a picture, or even solving a riddle. As an added safety benefit for parents, you can see the details of the adventure in advance. It’s a great way to get the whole family on an adventure around town! 

Audubon Bird Guide

Birdwatching might not seem like a go-to kids' activity, but it won’t take long to appreciate how fascinating and diverse birds are with the Audubon Bird Guide app. With over 800 species cataloged in their app, along with detailed range maps that show where each species is likely to be found, kids can learn so much just by walking out the front door. It’s another engaging, hands-on way for kids to learn about the natural world around them! 

Need Help? Use Bark to Help Balance Screen Time

With so many apps available to kids, it can be hard to make sure their screen time is healthy and balanced. But with Bark’s screen time features, you can more easily manage what your child has access to and when on their devices. You can make sure their outdoor time is distraction-free by blocking all games and social media. Bark also offers location tracking so you can keep track of their explorations, as well as content monitoring, web filtering, and more. 

Bark offers a variety of products that help parents protect their kids online, including the Bark Phone, the Bark Watch, the Bark app, and the Bark Home. Check out our products page to find out which one is the best fit for your family.