It was on a trip to Manly, NSW that Sunshine discovered a hidden painted rock for the very first time. She now knows to regularly be on the hunt and has found handfuls of painted rocks around Australia.
Getting our kids out in nature is always a good thing, and hidden rocks provide an incentive for kids to use their natural curiosity to discover the unexpected.
Painted Rocks : Find Hidden Rocks Near You
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Hidden rocks or hidden painted rocks are a little like magic with growing communities all across Australia delighting in creating these little artworks and hiding them in nature for children to find.
The Origin of the Painted Rocks Trend
The painted rocks trend is reputed to have been born in Cape Code USA back in 2015. It was here that Megan Murphy painted “You’ve got this!” on a rock and left it on one of the nearby beaches. It was soon discovered and the idea started to evolve into a far-reaching phenomenon dubbed The Kindness Project.
What are Hidden Painted Rocks?
The hidden painted rocks phenomenon involves people painting images or messages on rocks and then leaving the rock in a location for someone else to find.
How Do I Find a Painted Rock?
In our case, we have found our painted rocks by chance. Sunshine’s keen eye has spotted the small painted rocks in garden beds and on window sills in public areas. However, you can actively head out and search for hidden rocks and score if you know where to go.
No matter where you live, there are likely to be these rock-finding groups somewhere near your town or city. Often the person who has painted the rock will post a vague message or photo clue of where the rock can be found in one of the dedicated Hidden Rock groups which will lead you to the find.
How Do I Find a Painted Rock Group?
The easiest way to find a hidden painted rock is to know where the locations they have been hidden. Heading to one of the Facebook Groups will give you a head start with photo clues as well as instructions.
Here are some groups we have explored on our travels:
NSW Rocks – NSW ROCKS is a Statewide ROCK group bringing communities throughout NSW together through Rock Painting – Hide n Seek.
ACT Rocks – A little bit of creativity and nature play for kids and parents that live in the ACT, Australia.
VIC Rocks – Aim to engage the Victorian community in fun, fitness & creativity by painting rocks & hiding them in our beautiful parks, playgrounds & public places for others to find!
WA Rocks – Go hunting for painted rocks in your local park, visit some new areas, or paint some and hide for others to find and spread the joy.
SA Rocks Journey – The rocks are hidden in parks, with photos posted on a Facebook page so other parents can take their children to find the rocks, then re-hide them somewhere else.
NT Rocks – We adapted the concept and brought it to the NT, locally initially, but after high interest from people outside of her local area, decided to go territory-wide and be accessible to all NT residents, far and wide!
TAS Rocks – Tasmania’s statewide rock painting group, founded to keep kids and adults creative and active.
QLD Rocks – A little bit of creativity and nature play for kids and parents that live in QLD, Australia.
International
Palmy Rocks – Creating art and spreading happiness by painting rocks to hide around Palmerston North (New Zealand) or wherever you may travel to.
DISNEY ROCKS (Paint -Hide & Find ) – A place to show off what you paint-hide & find. Disney-themed and in local or Disney AREAS ! (Where permitted )
Where are Painted Rocks Banned?
The growing popularity of hiding painted rocks in nature has led a number of attractions, parks, nature areas, and spaces to ban this popular pastime.
One of the most obvious places where painted rocks should not be hidden is in Australia’s national parks and reserves. When visiting these natural spaces we are asked to remember to leave no trace when we leave which includes painted rocks.
Numerous parks across New Zealand have banned hidden painted rocks citing that they are a health and safety concern if positioned in the wrong place.
A number of Disney Parks have also banned hidden rocks in certain locations.
The key is to research your drop points and make sure they are appropriate before you head off to hide some of your painted rocks.
Rock Painting Ideas
You’ll quickly find that your kids will want to jump on board the rock painting craze as much as they want to find them, so what will you need?
Firstly, you will need to gather some suitable rocks. We purchased a large bag of white pebbles from Bunnings for around $15.00 which provided enough rocks to last.
Our next purchases were suitable pens and paint. Acrylic paints & permanent markers work best. We invested in Posca markers and some good acrylics which are still going strong. We also found a good black permanent marker that was not too thick, not too thin, to do our outlines.
Whilst not necessary, we also invested in a spray-on glaze which set and waterproofed our finished rocks.
Sunshine searched through the various community rock groups for designs to replicate before developing the confidence to create her own designs.
International Drop a Rock Day
For a number of years, International Drop a Rock Day has been celebrated on 3 July. This is an opportunity for painted rock lovers globally to paint designs on small rocks and then hide them for others to find.
More Nature Play Suggestions for Kids
Let your kids run wild in the woods! | Curating Nature | 20 Children’s Books About Gardening and Nature | Introducing the Kids to Bird Watching | Sydney Gardens to Explore | What to Feed Ducks
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