Draw a sensory map
Take a paper and pencil on a familiar walk in the dark. Use your senses to create a map as you go – mark the special smells, sounds and textures. You can light the way using your torch if you need to. Be sure to check what you are touching first, and never touch anything that looks poisonous or like it might hurt you. You could even go back during the day to see if you could follow the map.
Have a picnic in the dark
Eating in the dark is very strange; if you can’t see, you use your other senses more. You might notice the sound your food makes, or even that it tastes different. Tests have even shown people can enjoy food they don’t usually like when they eat them in the dark – so if your friends don’t like sprouts, dare them to eat them at night. Once you’ve gathered together provisions for your special picnic, head out at night to put this to the test (along with some warm clothes and a torch with a strong beam).
Hollow out a Punkie Night lantern
Punkie Night is an old Somerset tradition celebrated on the last Thursday of October. The lanterns were traditionally made from turnips (or mangelwurzels, a root vegetable usually grown for cow food). To make one, hollow out a turnip using your spoon, until only a thin layer is left. (Turnips are really hard, though, so you may find it easier to ask a grown-up to help you hollow it out using a power drill.) Put your tea light through the hole in the top and the light will glow eerily through the skin of a turnip.