Australian Wildlife Activities

Discover Australian animals, habitats & nature-inspired play ideas.

A young girl wearing a pink sun hat and a pink sleeveless top with buttons is outdoors, playing with a sensory bin filled with colorful split peas, a small wooden bowl of rice, and plastic kitchen utensils, on a weathered wooden table surrounded by green grass.
A young girl wearing a pink sun hat and a pink sleeveless top with buttons is outdoors, playing with a sensory bin filled with colorful split peas, a small wooden bowl of rice, and plastic kitchen utensils, on a weathered wooden table surrounded by green grass.
Explore Wildlife Products
An illustration of a kangaroo, koala bear, and hedgehog standing on an open book, with plants around them, on a light cream background with the word 'BOOKS' and a right-pointing arrow.
Illustration of nature-themed play activity with a tree log, pine cone, leaves, yellow container with sticks and a ball, yellow feather, and a magnifying glass, with the words 'NATURE PLAY' and an arrow on the left side.
Light yellow background with craft supplies including scissors, paintbrush, pencil, glue, paper with rainbow design, and a picture of a kangaroo. Decorative leaves, a rainbow, a handprint, a heart, and star shapes are also present.
Light yellow background with craft supplies including scissors, paintbrush, pencil, glue, paper with rainbow design, and a picture of a kangaroo. Decorative leaves, a rainbow, a handprint, a heart, and star shapes are also present.
Illustration of a community gallery display with drawings of a sun, flowers, a house, and plant pots, along with a sign that reads "Made by our community," and a banner of hearts and stars. The background is light with a yellow color theme.
A digital illustration promoting free educational resources, featuring a laptop with a graduation cap on the screen, an open book with a plant diagram, a document titled "Learn Grow Thrive" with a heart, a magnifying glass, a globe, a cup of pencils, a rainbow, and stars, all in a yellow monochrome style.
Illustration of magical potions, including a bottle with a plant label, a bowl with a stirring spoon, small jars, a book titled 'Magic Recipes', and whimsical decorative elements like stars, rainbow, handprint, and flowers, all in yellow tones.
A promotional graphic for sensory play, featuring a yellow and cream color scheme. It shows a hand touching a textured surface in a large circular container, with illustrations of a handprint, a rainbow, and droplets above. The text reads "Sensory Play" with an arrow pointing to the right.

Easy Wildlife Play Invitations

A wooden tray contains red rice, a paintbrush, and a fabric with a cartoon drawing of a dog. In the background, plastic toy dinosaurs and animals sit in a smaller compartment of the tray. The tray is on a quilted bedspread with a jungle leaf pattern.

Hidden Pictures

Hide a picture or a reuseable colouring mat under a sensory base and use a mini brush to reveal whats hidden.

Child holding a picture of a Japanese wolf puppy, wearing a pink textured sweater and purple pants.

Animal Figurine Matching

Match animal figurines with cards or books. Talk about the similarities/differences/habitats.

A child's hands are shown handling a small toy turtle on a table with a educational poster about various animal species.

Animal Covering

Match animals with their covering scales/skin/fur etc.

More Wildlife Play Ideas

Australian Play Essentials

Australian Galah Sensory Play Tray Australian Galah Sensory Play Tray Australian Galah Sensory Play Tray
Australian Galah Sensory Play Tray
from $16.99

Inspire curiosity about Australian wildlife through hands-on sensory play.

Did you know?

Galahs are known for their playful personalities and strong social bonds, making them one of Australia’s most loved native birds.

Why kids love it:

  • Open-ended sensory play

  • Nature-inspired exploration

  • Perfect for loose parts, fizz & sensory bases

  • Encourages fine motor development

Eucalypt Sensory Base Eucalypt Sensory Base
Eucalypt Sensory Base
$12.99

This sensory base has beautiful muted tones that resemble the Australian eucalypt forest floor. Perfect for small world or construction play trays.

Australian Cockatoo Sensory Play Tray Australian Cockatoo Sensory Play Tray Australian Cockatoo Sensory Play Tray
Australian Cockatoo Sensory Play Tray
from $16.99

Encourage nature connection, creativity and sensory exploration through play.

Why kids love it:

  • Open-ended sensory play

  • Nature-inspired exploration

  • Perfect for loose parts, fizz & sensory bases

  • Encourages fine motor development

Cockatoos are highly intelligent birds known for their curiosity, problem-solving and strong family bonds.

Tasmanian Devil
Tasmanian Devil
$3.99

A feisty, powerful-jawed marsupial found only in the wild in Tasmania.

Our Australian Animal Figurines are great to include in your play.

The Small Tasmanian Devil is hand painted.

Small world play helps to nurture your child’s imagination and provides them with opportunities to explore new materials, build language skills, practice their social skills and act out real life scenarios.

Size: 6cm (approximately)

Recommended for ages 3+. Other items featured are not included.

Parental supervision is required as small items may cause choking hazard.

Shop All

Books To Explore Together

Model of Australian wildlife and landscape with toy animals, trees, and a book titled "Cambridge in Australia" in a sandbox.

Somewhere in Australia by Marcello Pennacchio

Close-up of a small artificial tree with felt leaves, placed on a bed of colorful small pebbles, with a black miniature cauldron containing small items and a wooden bowl with textured green and black objects in the background.

Wombat Stew by Marcia Vaughan

Colorful storybook titled 'Neighbourhood Nest' by Sarah Jane Lightfoot, with illustrations of various birds and their nests, along with paper cutouts of different bird species and their nests or feathers.
Colorful storybook titled 'Neighbourhood Nest' by Sarah Jane Lightfoot, with illustrations of various birds and their nests, along with paper cutouts of different bird species and their nests or feathers.

Neighbourhood Nest by Sarah Jane Lightfoot

Community Inspiration Gallery

A colorful cartoon parrot with a green body, blue wings, orange beak, and yellow tail held in a person's hand. Green leaves and pink and white flower petals are scattered on a wooden surface in the background.
A wooden box with small pebbles, a painted wooden pond, and two bearded dragons inside. The box is decorated with a small potted plant and pink flowers at the side.
Children's play area with colorful toy food pieces, plastic containers, book with bird illustrations, and a branch with yellow spherical decorations.
A flat lay of a nature-themed educational activity setup with a round basket filled with multicolored seeds, toy animals, illustrated animal cards, colored markers, and a coloring sheet depicting various animals and plants, on a green tropical-print quilt.
Hands of a person placing a toy bird among various plastic and ceramic animal toys on a surface covered with multicolored beans and seeds.

Easy Wildlife Craft Acticities

Paper craft of a dinosaur with colorful paper circles for decoration and two paper sticks for legs, placed on a wooden surface with scattered paper circles.

Silouhette Craft

Simply use a hole punch to create different coloured circles and glue to a page. Cut out a bird silouhette and overlay it.

Young girl with blonde hair holding a black painted paper dinosaur cutout with rainbow colors, showing excitement and surprise. She is sitting at a table with some coins and a colorful table covering. In the background, there are chairs and some shelves.

Scratch Art

Cut out scratch art paper in Aussie animal shapes (psst got a Cricut? Use that!)

A young child with face paint of a butterfly on their face, sitting at a table with watercolor paints, a wooden eagle cutout, and other art supplies, engaging in a painting activity.

Paint Animal Shapes

Either cut out of paper or use wooden shapes for the kids to decorate.

More Craft Activities

Nature Play

Nature play encourages curiosity, creativity and connection with the world around us. Exploring outdoors, investigating natural specimens and engaging the senses helps children build confidence, emotional regulation and a lifelong appreciation for nature.

Hand arranging small, colorful pellets in a circular tray with artificial bird and plant decorations.
Close-up of a child's hand reaching towards a small wooden toy house on the ground, with a colorful bird figurine nearby, surrounded by dry leaves and twigs outdoors.
A bird hunt printable worksheet with plastic bird figurines of various types placed on it. The worksheet includes names and checkboxes for different bird species like galah, kookaburra, rainbow lorikeet, king parrot, magpie, superb fairy wren, crested pigeon, and feather, as well as a tree hollow illustration.
Colorful feathers arranged in a basket and on a page in a book with illustrations of birds.
Colorful display of small animal figurines, including a horse, bird, and dog, placed on a wooden tray filled with pink and red seeds or grains. A diagram of Australian animals with labeled illustrations is nearby, along with pink flowers and green leaves.

Sensory Play

Sensory play supports fine motor skills, emotional regulation, language development and imaginative exploration through tactile, open-ended play.

Pink and purple feathers illuminated by soft pink light, featuring several small bird-shaped decorative items.
Close-up of a wooden basin filled with pink and white bath salts, some green leaves, and a ceramic bird figurine with a black beak.
Child with blonde hair interacting with a small dinosaur-themed sandbox, including small toy dinosaurs, wooden cutouts, and pebbles, outdoors among greenery.
A young child with blonde hair wearing pajamas with colorful flowers and butterflies is reaching into a glass container filled with small rocks, leaves, and plastic animal figures. An adult's hand is holding the container, and a card with information about a koala is next to the container. The background includes a multi-colored patterned mat and part of a yellow cushion.
A wooden display box contains various toy animals like a fox, a snake, a meerkat, and a mole, placed on a textured orange surface with some green leaves.

Try This Messy Play

A sandbox with blue and yellow colored slime, toy sea creatures including sharks, eels, and an octopus, and two bowls of slime, one blue and yellow, and the other green and yellow. A person is using a spoon to scoop slime.

Simply colour shaving foam by mixing it with a drop of food colouring.

A white bowl with a toy shark on a bed of green and yellow rubber noodles, a children's book titled "The Snail and the Whale" resting inside the bowl, a pair of blue scissors, and a wood ruler placed on a white surface.

Colour spagetti by adding food colouring whist it cooks for the perfect scissor skills activity.

A young girl with long, curly blonde hair, wearing a purple checkered shirt, is playing with sensory play material that includes shredded paper, small toys, and colorful objects at a table.
A young girl with long, curly blonde hair, wearing a purple checkered shirt, is playing with sensory play material that includes shredded paper, small toys, and colorful objects at a table.

Add some magnets to a sensory base and go fishing with a paperclip tied to some wool.

Potion Play

Calming hands-on play filled with fizzing, pouring & discovery.

Child in pink sweater washing raw meat in a metal bowl on a wooden table with eucalyptus leaves and decorative animal figures and toys, including a plastic rat and a model of a green insect, scattered on the table.
A large round wooden table with various bird feeders and objects, including a transparent tube with seeds, a white and orange plate with seed remnants, a decorative sunflower-shaped feeder, and a small wooden bowl containing flour or powder. The table is outdoors on a weathered wooden surface with grass and plants around.
Child washing a toy in a pink foamy water basin. The scene is outdoors on a wooden table with plants and decorative rocks, toys, and a sign reading 'Owen & Quinn's Kitchen'.
A wooden tray on grass with various handcrafted objects, including metallic and glittery sculptures and red feather decorations, a person's hand is holding a small container, and there are two glass jars filled with water.
Shop Potion Play

Free Educational Resources

A colorful chart of 20 backyard birds of the Sunshine Coast, including species like the Yellow-tailed Black-Cacatoo, Australian Figbird, Blue-faced Honeyeater, and the Laughing Kookaburra, each with labeled names and sizes.

Backyard Bird Identification Charts

Amazing resources from Bird Life Australia

  • Brisbane

    The team at Birds in Backyards have put together a handy poster showing some of the backyard birds of Brisbane, which you can find here.

    Sunshine Coast

    The team at Birds in Backyards have put together a handy poster showing some of the backyard birds of the Sunshine Coast, which you can find here.

    Toowoomba

    The team at Birds in Backyards have put together a handy poster showing some of the backyard birds of Toowoomba region, which you can find here.

  • Adelaide

    The team at Birds in Backyards have put together a handy poster showing some of the backyard birds of Tea Tree Gully (Adelaide), which you can find here.

  • Canberra

    The team at Birds in Backyards have put together a handy poster showing some of the backyard birds of Canberra, which you can find here

  • Our BirdLife WA branch has absolutely masses of Bird Guides from all over the state. Have a scroll through their Bird Guide list to find your nearest location here.

  • The team at Birds in Backyards have put together a handy poster showing some of the backyard birds of Tasmania, which you can find here.

  • The team at Birds in Backyards have put together a handy poster showing some of the backyard birds of Victoria, which you can find here.

  • The team at Birds in Backyards have put together a handy poster showing some of the backyard birds of NSW, which you can find here.

  • Check out the Northern Territory Bird Watching page to find what birds you might see in the Top End and where you might find them here.

Backyard Snake Infographics

Amazing resources from ASIEA

Illustration of various common snakes found in Brisbane backyards, with labels indicating their species, venom toxicity, habitat, and activity patterns. The image includes snakes such as the eastern brown snake, yellow-faced whip snake, rough-scaled snake, common tree snake, bandy-bandy, brown tree snake, eastern small-eyed snake, white-crowned snake, marsh snake, coastal carpet python, and red-bellied black snake.

  • Brisbane

    The team at ASIEA have put together a handy infographic showing some of the backyard Snakes of Brisbane, which you can find here.

    Sunshine Coast

    The team at ASIEA have put together a handy infographic showing some of the backyard Snakes of the Sunshine Coast, which you can find here.

    Toowoomba

    The team at ASIEA have put together a handy infographic showing some of the backyard Snakes of Toowoomba region, which you can find here.

    here.

  • Adelaide

    The team at ASIEA have put together a handy infographic showing some of the backyard Snakes of Adelaide, which you can find here.

  • The team at ASIEA have put together a handy infographic showing some of the backyard Snakes which you can find here

  • The team at ASIEA have put together a handy infographic showing some of the backyard Snakes here.

  • The team at ASIEA have put together a handy infographic showing some of the backyard Snakes here.

  • The team at ASIEA have put together a handy infographic showing some of the backyard Snakes here.

  • Newcastle

    The team at ASIEA have put together a handy infographic showing some of the backyard Snakes of:

    Newcastle which you can find here.

    Sydney which you can find here

  • The team at ASIEA have put together a handy infographic showing some of the backyard Snakes here.

An infographic titled 'Why This Play Matters' highlighting the benefits of children's play, including fine motor skills, imaginative play, cognitive development, and nature connection. The infographic is decorated with small seashells and a turtle toy.
An infographic titled 'Why This Play Matters' highlighting the benefits of children's play, including fine motor skills, imaginative play, cognitive development, and nature connection. The infographic is decorated with small seashells and a turtle toy.
Back to Play Calendar