Two months before school starts again. That's 60 days, give or take a few, to coax a kid to open the front door and walk outside.
Given the number of electronic gizmos and touch-screen doodads crying for attention, that's no small achievement. A study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that kids ages 8 to 18 spend 6.5 hours a day wired to things with screens and ear buds.
So how do you succeed in your "No Child Left Inside" campaign?
Perhaps a trail of Reese's Pieces from bedroom door to backyard - a reverse E.T. scenario - might work. Bribery is another option.
But a lot of groups are willing to help.
Let's start with REI, the outdoor gear cooperative with outlets in Timonium and College Park, which is offering Passport to Adventure, a program for kids ages 5 to 12.
It works just like the passport issued by the State Department, except you don't have to wait six months and it doesn't cost $97.
The blue booklet has room to list five hiking or biking adventures. REI will give you a list of outings in your area that are suitable for kids and have been tested by store staff members. Hikes in the Baltimore area are in familiar places such as the Loch Raven watershed, Oregon Ridge Park and Gunpowder Falls State Park.
Joe Hopkins, assistant store manager in Timonium, says it's OK to color outside the lines.
"They don't need to follow our suggestions to the letter. We just want them to go outside and have an adventure. If they want to expand their horizons, they should go for it," he says.
Complete three activities, fill out the passport and return it to REI. The staff will stamp the booklet and award a certificate of completion and a prize, such as a water bottle.
Passport, in its second year, is a natural next step after REI's Promote Environmental Awareness in Kids (PEAK) program. REI sends trained staff members to scout groups and classrooms to spread the "leave no trace" gospel.
"We hope Passport and PEAK help shape attitudes and behaviors so that kids will participate in healthy outdoors activities and carry that through to when they're adults," Hopkins says.
Maybe you're feeling a little more adventurous and would like to take your kids camping but have forgotten some of the basics.
REI is offering a free clinic at 7 p.m. July 19 at its Timonium store, 63 W. Aylesbury Road. Call 410-252-5920 for details.
If you're looking for something with less pressure, the National Wildlife Federation has Green Hour (www.greenhour.org), an online offering to help parents and caregivers plan outdoor activities including backyard camping and bird-watching. Each entry includes a list of activities and tips for making the most of the adventure.
Two groups are having youth fishing derbies this month.
Every kid wins a prize at the Pasadena Sportfishing Group's derby at Downs Park from 8 to 11:30 a.m. July 15. Take a rod and reel. The bait is free, and so is the advice from volunteers, who know what they're doing. The cost is $2 in advance (www.hey fish.com) or $5 the day of the event. Regular park entry fees will be waived for the derby.
From 8 a.m. to noon July 21, North Point State Park will have a derby for kids ages 4 to 15. A casting contest will be held after the derby. Volunteers from the park and the Edgemere Senior Center will be there to lend a hand. The derby costs $2 to enter.
If hiking is a radical first step, the Patuxent Wildlife Refuge in Laurel has a 30-minute guided tour of woods and wetlands aboard an open-sided electric tram. The tram runs weekdays at 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., and on weekends at 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Tickets are $3 for adults, $2 for seniors and $1 for children younger than 12.
Once you have their attention, try one of the free children's programs about frogs, birds, wildflowers or butterflies. All the refuge staff asks is that you reserve a spot.
Rainy days will happen, but there are options that bring the outdoors inside.
The National Environmental Education Foundation Web site (www.eeweek.org) has a list of books for elementary and middle school students and a Nature Bee quiz.
The National Audubon Society is running Project Puffin to help the two surviving U.S. colonies branch out along the Maine coast. A Web site (www.projectpuffin .org) has lots of information about the black-and-white birds with the orange beaks and bills, and a live camera at Maine's Seal Island National Wildlife Refuge so that you can watch the seabirds.
Tag lines
Capt. Sam Fisher of Heathsville, Va., reeled in a 116.1-pound big-eye tuna last Sunday. That was good for first place and $9,360 in the Maryland Saltwater Sportfishermen's Association 18th Annual Tuna-ment
The winner in Division 1, with a 64.8-pound yellowfin tuna, was Baltimore's Charles Wallace, who won $2,373.75.
George Wendling of Anne Arundel County finished second in Division 1 but by entering three of the four skill levels picked up a check for $3,552.75, the second-largest prize.
candy.thomson@baltsun.com