Helping the school

[+BrixingtonPaddler]

I have been approached by a representative of my local high school (my dad) to be brought in as an expert (LOL) on geocaching to set out a series of caches that a group of students aged 14-15 could enjoy as part of the Princes Trust scheme

 

I have the idea of placing about 10-15 35mm containers out, perhaps covered with an object, on a local nature reserve. I dont intend to mark these for review or publish them as that would be too much effort to get them all approved in what might be a short space of time. So this will be all unofficial, but I do like to keep things within the rules. maybe put them 2-300 feet apart so its not so boring.

 

One issue we have is that we have a lack of GPS units. Even though we have a fund which is still unknown to me, the acquisition of multiple gps units might get expensive, even though most teenagers have smart phones nowadays.

 

I dont really have a question here, just putting my thoughts out there with the option of people to put in their thoughts also, however, I was shown some GPS keyrings that were damned cheap, as in cheaper than 2nd hand Etrex H off ebay (£5) but cant seem to find them

 

Its been 15 years since I went to this school, but I do remember it well, and remember the kind of trips I was taken out on when I joined for extra-curricular activities.. so would like to make this work, and enjoyable for all

 

Thanks for any input

[team tisri]

If you're getting GPS keyrings make sure they actually have a location display and the ability to navigate. Some of them are bluetooth devices which will provide your position (but only if you have a bluetooth receiver) - in isolation they are no use at all.

[+keehotee]

I have the idea of placing about 10-15 35mm containers out, perhaps covered with an object, on a local nature reserve. I dont intend to mark these for review or publish them as that would be too much effort to get them all approved in what might be a short space of time. So this will be all unofficial, but I do like to keep things within the rules. maybe put them 2-300 feet apart so its not so boring.

 

 

There's a chance that some of these children will go on to take up caching - so why not use a variety of different containers to reflect what's actually out there in the real world? Unless you want them to assume that a small, leaky, squashable film pot is the norm?

Worth pointing out too that many areas (the FC in the south west, for example) no longer allow film pots - or any container small enough to be swallowed by an animal.....

[+Gushoneybun]

I have been approached by a representative of my local high school (my dad) to be brought in as an expert (LOL) on geocaching to set out a series of caches that a group of students aged 14-15 could enjoy as part of the Princes Trust scheme

 

I am sure a good few of the students will have smart phones with built in GPS, it might be worth finding out what they all have as you maybe able to harness their phones at no additional cost?

[+Munkeh]

I have the idea of placing about 10-15 35mm containers out, perhaps covered with an object, on a local nature reserve. I dont intend to mark these for review or publish them as that would be too much effort to get them all approved in what might be a short space of time. So this will be all unofficial, but I do like to keep things within the rules. maybe put them 2-300 feet apart so its not so boring.

 

 

There's a chance that some of these children will go on to take up caching - so why not use a variety of different containers to reflect what's actually out there in the real world? Unless you want them to assume that a small, leaky, squashable film pot is the norm?

Worth pointing out too that many areas (the FC in the south west, for example) no longer allow film pots - or any container small enough to be swallowed by an animal.....

 

I'm sure a hippo could swallow a ammo can

[+abanazar]

I did something similar in the summer when approached by our village's youth group (average age probably 12-13). I created a 9-stage multi, which ended with an ammo can. Since the group is called The Green Room (the colour of the room where they originally met), I themed it all so that each clue was a colour, and each colour had a value for the final formula. There was one virtual clue (a gravestone with the name of Brown!) and the other seven clue stages were micros, which were all of different shapes and sizes e.g. magnetic bolt, a dangler requiring a tree climb, one of those decoy ducks requiring a wade in the stream, a bison tube in a mildly creepy/muddy tunnel under a railway, and so on. Our village is fortunate in that all these features are within half a mile or so of the group's clubhouse, with no roads to cross. The multi was designed so that the clues could be done in any order, to enable independent groups.

 

The main issue though was technology. We only had two GPS units, and although we also had a couple of smartphones, no-one knew how to use them for caching, mainly because I've only ever used my Oregon. So we ended up with just two groups of about 10. The event worked better than I thought it would, and lasted about 1.5 hrs on a fine summer's evening. Quite a few kids were engaged with the "treasure hunt" aspect, and those who were "too cool" to be bothered with such childishness ambled along behind, texting or Facebooking or whatever it is they do. The race for the final ammo can was won by the group that I was chaperoning

 

Good luck with your event. I would say that the more effort that you can put into exciting and varied stages, the more fun everyone will have. My thought was that kids (just like me) may not be captivated by a standard footpath ramble that happens to have a film pot under every other stile

[+MartyBartfast]

 

I am sure a good few of the students will have smart phones with built in GPS, it might be worth finding out what they all have as you maybe able to harness their phones at no additional cost?

 

This would also have the advantage that if they then want to persue caching they're already up and running.

 

I do seem to remember some years ago a cheap keyring GPS but it was designed so that when you park the car you hit a button, then when you need to find the car again it took you back to that spot, I don't think it allowed input of waypoints which you'd need for caching. I wasl also recently looking for a small, cheap GPS unit, and for a selfcontained device I couldn't see anything under about £30, bluetooth devices can be found for less but then they need another device for the navigation.

[dodgydaved]

I have been approached by a representative of my local high school (my dad) to be brought in as an expert (LOL) on geocaching to set out a series of caches that a group of students aged 14-15 could enjoy as part of the Princes Trust scheme

 

 

FWIW for the last 5 years I have run a geocaching course in the summer as part of our Yr 7 "Challenge" programme. (Together with Horse Care and Riding, Team Building OP sessions etc)

 

I used to take them to locations, within about 7 miles of school, where there were caches on GC.com - with a variety of containers and cache types - and use these. Part of the exercise was in the ICT suite checking the cache pages and researching the local terrain on OS maps (MM on the school network with an educational license) and sometimes (well not very often in the last 12 months because of the literacy deficits of the group) logging the find as well - though they always signed the log book.

 

Also we had a couple of coins out there to track as a group - but they went missing :-(.

 

On the whole it worked very well. Admittedly I was working with very small groups of students - usually 3 or 4 max, but they were all SpNeeds lads (social and behavioural problems and specific learning difficulties.) I managed with just my own 2 units.

 

Only once did any of my kids return to a cache site and muggle it (and I was able to replace the cache within 12 hours of the event) and after that I never used a cache that was close to school. There was actually one at the bottom of the drive that all the staff knew about (and the site manager regularly let me know if it had been found. The logs made good reading, and the tales on a forum about how careful the finder had to be because of the taxi activity and pupils about - stating they felt they had been unseen - when Tom had been watching there every move and telling me about it later!) but none of the kids knew it was there!

 

It was a very positive exercise.

 

I also used caching on occasions for staff inset on work life balance!!!

 

Hope your project is successful.