Did you know that kids in Switzerland spend an average of 1.5 hours a day outside? That's what our 2023 namuk Outdoor Study revealed. At the same time, topics like mental health, mindful screen time, physical activity, and sleep quality are becoming increasingly important. That's why, together with our partners Switzerland Tourism, Transa, Zoo Zurich, and SBB, we launched the namuk Outdoor Challenge. Our goal was to give families a little nudge to consciously spend more time outdoors in their daily lives.
Because playing outside means having adventures, discovering nature, and, along the way, boosting health, creativity, and concentration. Our mission at namuk is to let kids experience and discover nature with all their senses – today and for the future. And the challenge was a wonderful way to support families on this journey. To do this, we teamed up with illustrator Maurus Zehnder to design a search-and-find poster with 100 outdoor ideas to serve as a daily source of inspiration. The ideas were a joint creation from namuk and our challenge partners.
And did it work? Did anything really change? To find out, we surveyed 1,836 families before the challenge and 769 families after it ended. The results show that our challenge successfully increased the time spent outdoors. We're thrilled to have reached this small milestone and see it as motivation to do even more in this direction.
But what truly excited us were the countless submissions and inspiring feedback from families. Through pictures, emails, Instagram messages, and other channels, they showed us how active their families are and how much they value their time together outside. From testing hiking trails and discovering via ferratas to riding scooters through the neighborhood, hopping from one playground to the next, sleeping under the stars, observing insects, and crafting with natural materials – they did it all. You can get a glimpse of the families' adventures on our website. It was amazing!
Most responses came from the cantons of Zurich, Bern, and Aargau. The majority of participants live in the countryside (46.2%), followed by "somewhere in between" (30.8%), with the fewest living in the city (23%). The largest age group for the kids was 4 to 6 years old.
Among the families who took part in the initial survey, a total of 3,651 kids were registered (1,884 boys, 1,751 girls, and 16 kids specified as "diverse"). However, the actual participation in the challenge was significantly higher; we distributed a total of 95,000 posters, and 5,440 people registered for the challenge.
Why we started the challenge
Before the challenge began, we asked families about their expectations and the biggest obstacles that keep them from going outside. The desire for new activity ideas was clearly the top priority. Many families hoped it would boost their motivation and help them spend more time outdoors together. Before the challenge, the most common outdoor activities for the surveyed families included riding bikes or scooters, being in the garden, or doing some tinkering. Playing with others or romping around at the playground was also very popular. According to our survey, the biggest challenges that limit or even prevent more outdoor time are obstacles like bad weather, a lack of time for kids or parents, and the competition from screen time.
The good news: for a quarter of the families surveyed, the kids enjoy going outside on their own initiative (25.1%). But our survey also showed how important mothers (23.9%) and fathers (13.7%) are as motivators. This is where our Outdoor Challenge came in: with the poster and its 100 ideas, we wanted to motivate adventurers of all ages to get out and (re)discover outdoor activities.
Results: half an hour more time outside
The best result from our post-challenge survey was this: kids spent an average of 26 more minutes outdoors each day. The average time outside increased from 2.56 to 2.99 hours per day. This increase might sound small, but 26 more minutes of adventure every day makes a big difference.
Around 30% of families said they consciously spent more time outside because of the challenge. One parent wrote: "We now go out even when the weather is bad." Another commented: "Dad also had to play outside after work." A large portion of families didn't notice a difference. However, we were very happy to see that the initial survey already made it clear that these families were spending more than one and a half hours outside per day on average, which is already more than the average from our 2023 study.
From inspiration to action
The poster was the key for many families. It became a "bucket list" for their next shared adventure and made it easier to find new ideas. Even though most stated that it didn't lead to new habits, many consciously planned shared outdoor time and family activities during the 100 days.
"It was great to see the poster as a 'bucket list' and pick out the next adventure together."
"We wanted to try out as many ideas on your amazing poster as possible, and we actually almost managed it. That was really motivating and encouraging."
The challenge inspired families to think outside the box and try new things. Activities that were newly discovered particularly often included hiking and climbing, as well as visiting climbing gyms, rope courses, or pump tracks. More families also went on bike trips and tried their hand at making nature mandalas, archery, or observing insects.
A total of 300 families reported trying new activities, and 202 families spent more time together outdoors.
Obstacles – and what families made of them
The biggest hurdles remained similar even after the challenge: bad weather, lack of time for both kids and parents, kids who prefer to be indoors, and screen time. At the same time, some families reported less screen time – some even introduced a "screen time only on weekends" rule. Some families also observed that, thanks to the challenge, they are now more active, have a greater interest in nature, and generally plan their time outside together more consciously.
This awareness of their own outdoor time was an important takeaway. Not only was the time outside tracked more consciously, but coloring in the green dots in the evening also led some families to talk about what they had done and experienced outdoors. Or, after coloring, they were motivated to look at the poster to find an activity for the next day. A lovely evening ritual for the whole family.
What we're learning from the feedback
During and after the Outdoor Challenge, we received countless messages from you. We were blown away by your enthusiasm and all the exciting adventures you had outside! The general feedback on the challenge was overwhelmingly positive: "great idea," "beautiful poster," and lots of praise for the collection of ideas on the homepage. We also received many messages expressing a desire for more campaigns like this, such as a Winter Challenge or a namuk community get-together.
"We enjoyed our time outside as a family. You gave us ideas every day. We did things again that we hadn't thought about in a long time. It added a lot of variety, and our son was much more excited to go outside with us."
Many of you wished you could take the ideas with you in a physical format. We were so happy to receive all your extensive and, above all, varied feedback. We're taking it all on board and are already thinking about the next project to inspire families to spend more time outside.
"It would be great if the booklet with the ideas was available as a PDF (namuk's note: this was available in French). That way, the kids could read it on paper instead of on a screen."
The adventure continues
Even though the 100 days are over, the effects linger: more physical activity, a stronger connection to nature, more quality family time, and a new awareness of how good regular doses of outdoor time feel. Of course, there's also the question of whether a challenge is even necessary, since being outside should be a given. We believe that sometimes, you just need a little nudge to break routines, consciously choose to spend more time outside, and rediscover the adventure right on your doorstep.
You can still find the 100 outdoor ideas on the namuk blog – for any weather, any environment, and any age. Get outside and enjoy your time in the great outdoors!
What families will keep from the challenge
“You don't always need something new. The realization from the challenge that kids just want to be outside together with their family was amazing. Whether it's by the sea in Sardinia or just in the backyard – the main thing is being together!”
“Being outside and clearing your head is simply good for everyone. Everyone is always happy in nature.”
“There are no more excuses for not spending more time outside.”
“No one is too small to be an adventurer.” “This was a great project. We think it's very important for kids: for their development, on the one hand, but also for consciously enjoying moments together as a family.”
“A 'small' poster can so easily motivate you to spend more time outside. At first, the motivation was more about going out just to color in the dots... at some point, it just became normal to do something outdoors. Thanks for the motivation!!”
