Discover More About Finland With These Activities and Games

One fun thing to do with your girls is to teach them about another country everything from the people of country, weather, culture, food and more.

You can center your whole meeting around teaching the girls about Finland. I’ve included some general facts about the country. Then beyond just the facts I have provided a pile of games, activities, fun patch suggestions, and other resources to make your event fun and educational.

This is the content you can print and use to put together a poster or just share with your girls. If you want easy to use games and activities to teach your girls these facts be sure to keep reading through this post.

Did you know? Finland is called the Official Republic of Finland. One of its nickname is “Land of the Midnight Sun”. During the summer the sun doesn’t drop below the horizon in the north. It shines all day and night.

Geography of Finland: Finland borders Sweden, Norway and Russia. The highest mountain in Finland is Halti at 1324m. The largest river in Finland is the Kemijoki measuring 550 km. Finland is surrounded by water on 3 sides. There are 50,000 lakes in Finland. Finland also has a second nickname “ Land of a Thousand Lakes”.

People in Finland: The population of Finland is 5,542,517 people (2018) Finland has 117,610 square miles of land. Eighty-six percent of the country is covered by forests with pine, spruce and birch trees. The capital of Finland is Helsinki. Helsinki is also the largest city in Finland.

Animals in Finland:  The national bird of Finland is the whooper swan. The national animal is the brown bear. The grey wolf, wolverine, elk, Saimaa ringed seal, golden eagle, lemming, raccoon dog and snowy owl are a few of the animals in Finland.

Government in Finland: Finland gained its independence from Russia in 1917. Finland is a multiparty democracy. Elections are organized to select a president and 200 members to parliament. The right to vote is universal and equal.

Economy in Finland: The dollar in Finland is the Euro (currency). Finland has the largest forest area and is the largest producer of wood, in all of Europe. Major industry is metals, electronics, machinery, and scientific instruments. Agriculture in Finland is growing barley, wheat, sugar beets, potatoes. Cattle and fish are also part of the agriculture.

Natural resources are iron, copper, lead , zinc, nickel, gold, silver and limestone. Telecommunications company Nokia is located in Finland. Nokia is one of the largest producers of cell phones. The creator of “Angry Bird” is from Finland.

Armed forces in Finland: The Finnish Army is the name of the military. There are 6 branches including infantry, field artillery, anti aircraft artillery, engineers, and signals and material troops. All Finnish men between 18-60 are for liable for military or non military service. Women can volunteer for the armed forces.

Language in Finland: Most people speak Finnish. Swedish is spoken 5.6% and other languages is 2.4%.

Religion in Finland: A large majority of religion is the Lutheran National Church at 84.2%. Greek Orthodox is 1.1% and other Chrisitans is 1.1%. People who don’t participate in any religion is 13.5 %.

Education in Finland: 1 year olds-5 year olds are in daycare and preschool. Kindergarten is for 6 year olds. Compulsory school is required for 7-16 year olds. Sixteen year olds can receive their diploma if they pass all requirements needed. Secondary general academics and vocational education is considered higher education. Ninety-nine percent of adults in Finland can read.

Food in Finland:  A traditional pastry called Karelian is made from rye crust filled with rice. Fish, pork, beef, reindeer, chicken, duck , horse meat, deer, moose and bear are all popular foods in Finland. Vegetables, mushrooms, rye, barley, oats and berries are used in many Finnish foods.

Recreation in Finland: The sauna was created in Finland. A sauna is a wooden room that is filled with steam. Families sit in the sauna to relax and cleanse their bodies. The national sport in Finland is called Pesapallo, which is similar to baseball. Ice hockey, skiing, track and field, soccer, swimming, motorsports, and gymnastics are also popular.

Kyykka or Finnish Skittles
This game requires 2 players and 12 pins called skittles. Each player gets a small wooden bat. The objective is to toss the bat and knock the others player pins out of the play area. The winner is the player who can do it with the least number of throws.

Entertainment Chain or Ketsju
This is a game that requires one player to leave the room while the others players join hands in a circle. They weave themselves around each other, until they are tangled, into a knot. The person who left the room returns and tries to untangle the group.

Crab Ball Tag
This game is played by players moving around like crabs, with their stomachs up, and walking backwards, on their hands and feet. A minimum of 6 players is needed to be the crab, and one standing player is the tagger. The tagger has a rubber ball that is thrown at the crabs. The crabs can hit the ball back using only their head or legs. If a crab kicks the ball back out the standing player can only make his next throw from where he stands. If no one has kicked it out, the tagger can move around, but not run. If a crab is hit between the waist and neck, that player becomes the tagger.

Here are few other around the world ideas I have shared in the past that may be great for your event as well if you are doing more than learning about one country.

• Airplane Ride Activity Girls will take an airplane ride around the world.
• World Trefoil Game Girls will learn the meaning of the Trefoil pin.
• 12 Resources on the Web to Plan Your International Event Here you will find a pile of amazing resources I have found online that will help you plan your event.

Enjoy every minute being a leader and continue to inspire your girls!