Explore Minnesota's Outdoors Through
Discovery, Storytelling, and Stewardship
About North Star Nature Packs
Prairie Public Education Services has partnered with libraries across northwestern Minnesota to offer free North Star Nature Packs to families.
These packs celebrate outdoor exploration and Minnesota's nature and wildlife through stories, hands-on tools, and family activities. Whether you're headed to a state park, a recreation area, or just your own backyard, North Star Nature Packs help your family explore the outdoors together.
Each pack is free to check out and includes a Minnesota-authored children's book, outdoor exploration tools, animal identification cards, Minnesota-themed materials, and a seasonal activity packet. Pack contents rotate throughout the year — starting with fall and cycling through summer — so there's always something new to discover.
How to Reserve a Pack
1. Check-out a pack. Starting September 1, our Fall nature packs are available at these participating Minnesota libraries:
- Hawley Public Library
- Breckenridge Public Library
- Detroit Lakes Public Library
- Pelican Rapids Public Library
Note: Libraries will vary for Winter, Spring, and Summer nature packs.
2. Get outside. Visit a nearby state park (Fall packs include a Maplewood State Park day pass), recreation area — or your own backyard — and dig into the activities together.
3. Bring it back. Complete the activities and return the packs, plus the completed Family Nature Checklist, and we'll mail your family an "I'm An Explorer" certificate.
Explore North Star Nature Packs
Click the icons below to see what's inside each pack.
Our Mission
North Star Nature Packs are uniquely designed to get kids and families outside and curious about Minnesota's wild places.
Through storytelling, hands-on exploration, and time outdoors, we hope every pack helps families feel more connected to the plants, animals, and landscapes that make Minnesota home — and builds lasting habits of getting outside together through all of Minnesota's seasons!
MN Nature Companion Curriculum Toolkit
Please use the LearningMedia classroom resources below to explore Minnesota's environment with your students.
Human Impact on Native Prairie Land
Explore the history of the Minnesota prairie and the ways it has been shaped by both Indigenous communities who live in relationship with the land and by European settlers whose expansion has transformed the landscape to fit their needs.
Public Art in Action
Explore how Project 412, a "place-making" program focused on nature and public art, strengthens the Detroit Lakes, Minnesota community through civic investment. Students will examine how partnerships with local artists and organizations foster collaboration, build community identity, and improve quality of life in the lakes region.
Foraging in Minnesota
Learn how cultural traditions and relationships with the land shape the way communities use natural resources while caring for their environment.