Today, Liz Baird, director of school programs at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, writes about the upcoming Take A Child Outside week. The Raleigh museum leads the national program, now in its second year. The week starts Sept. 24 and runs through Sept. 30.

When I was a kid, the rule was I could stay outside "until the streetlights came on." My brothers and I would play with friends from the neighborhood, climbing the maple tree in the front yard, drawing with crabapples on the sidewalk, inventing elaborate games in the park near the house. We'd always notice the arrival of fall, and the shortening of the daylight hours and our time outside.

Today, most kids don't notice the day's are getting shorter, and most don't have the rule that they have to come indoors, because they are not going outdoors. A fourth-grader in San Diego provides the epigraph of Richard Louv's book, "Last Child in the Woods:" "I like to play indoors better 'cause that's where all the electrical outlets are."

It was Louv that provided the inspiration for international Take A Child Outside week. When the first edition of "Last Child in the Woods" was released, Louv spent a morning at Prairie Ridge (the field station for the museum). The conversation with docents, junior curators, museum staff and Louv revolved around our collective outdoor experiences. It was obvious that each of us had significant connections with places from our childhoods, and that we valued those experiences as adults. Reflecting on that morning, and mulling over what the Museum could do to help break down the obstacles to getting children outdoors, led to the idea for Take A Child Outside week.

So celebrate Take A Child Outside week with your children. Go to takeachildoutside.org and make a pledge to go outside, then come back and post a description of what you did and where you went.

If you are looking for a special treat, visit Prairie Ridge on Sept. 30 from 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. for a special family evening. Search the map for partner organizations (now more than 250 across the United States and in four foreign countries).

Check the activities section for easy hands-on things to do outdoors with most any age child. And if you have not done so already, read "Last Child in the Woods." You'll be inspired to continue connecting children and nature.

Check out our other daily themes at TriangleMom2Mom:

MONDAY: Meet!
TUESDAY: Ask!
WEDNESDAY: Eat!
THURSDAY: Play!
FRIDAY: Out!

WEEKEND: Relax!