After our first week at LCC, we had a location change to the beautiful Mount Pisgah Arboretum. Although it was logistical challenges that triggered the change, it turned out to be a wonderful opportunity to spend some gorgeous fall days in a more natural setting. A couple times a deer or two would walk casually by as we were making maps or exploring the trails.
We got out the giant tape measure and introduced the concept of pacing. The idea is you learn how many steps you take in a given distance, which allows you to estimate distances just by walking and counting.
One group wanted accurate results, so we walked 100 ft several times and took the average for each person. It’s important to remember to walk naturally, and, that our steps length can vary depending on if we’re walking uphill or downhill and over rough terrain.
Then we played a game where each group split into two teams. Each team used a notebook to record a bearing and distance, and then hid a poker chip at each location.
Then the teams switched notebooks and tried to find the other team’s hidden chips by using a compass and pacing. I wasn’t sure how this game would go, but it worked quite well and I even got feedback that it was fun.
Another game we returned to many times over the weeks was associating the degree number with directions. For example, the person holding the compass rose would call out, “30” and everyone would try to figure out which quadrant it falls in. When someone has an answer they raise their hand, we wait until all hands are raised, then everyone calls out, “Northeast!” and we giggle a little because a couple people said, “Southwest!”
Another ongoing game was the direction sensing game. Everyone would spin around with their eyes closed until they didn’t know which way was which. Then someone calls out, “North!” and everyone tries to figure out where north is without looking. I was impressed at how the kids improved at this over the few weeks we were together.
One activity to learn about maps involved the kids examining a bunch of different types of maps, showing different information and at different scales. They worked with partners to compare what was different and what was the same and what they noticed about the various maps.
And a long with maps came the somewhat complicated topic of declination: the difference between true north and magnetic north. We had some good conversations about why this is, and why declination changes with time and location.
By accounting for the 14.5 degree current local difference between true north and magnetic north (we rounded to 15) the kids were able to align their maps properly and then take a bearing between two landmarks even if they couldn’t see them.
This led to a few short challenges of using a bearing taken from the map to navigate to locations around the park.
Another activity we did to help understand scale, was to draw a map of a miniature world (as framed by window) to scale. The challenge was to use a ruler to measure the landmarks and then draw them accurately, orient the map and mark north correctly, and include a legend and indicator of scale. Most kids chose to make 1:1 scale maps.
One brave student accepted the extra challenge of making a 2:1 scale map, which meant everything had to be drawn twice as big as it was in real life.
On the last day, we put all the skills together into one big treasure hunt! I had the kids navigate all over the park to find six locations, complete six challenges, and at last, find the hidden treasure. Honestly, I had no idea how long this would take them- I hoped they would be able to finish it in three hours, and I had an extra activity in case it only took them an hour. Each kid got to be the team lead for at least one clue, but they all worked together to solve the puzzles and find their way. One of my favorite tasks they had to complete before getting the next clue was to make a compass rose out of natural materials. Oriented correctly, of course!
For the last clue, they had to measure both distance and direction on the map- not an easy task!
But to my amazement, both teams figured it out and found the treasure with minutes to spare. Couldn’t have asked for a better ending to Wild Alive Outside’s first short course!
Much gratitude to all the great students and parents and to the staff of Mount Pisgah who welcomed our little group with open arms!
I love this course, great job! We do similar things at Singing Creek Educational Center, but with more focus on history. The science aspect is fascinating. We do a “compass rose matching game” that I created, and they learn to draw a compass rose in their journals. We make a map of the park using our compasses, but we don’t go into as much depth as you do here. I’m very interested to see how your organization shapes up over time. Let’s talk! Karen Rainsong