Lab Caches at the West Bend Cache Bash Mega-Event

[+matter23]

This year at the West Bend Cache Bash we introduced Lab Caches.

There was 8 in total of which 3 of them were mine.

See the page here: West Bend Lab Cache

 

Each Lab cache has a description so I wont get into each lab in detail. Please see the page link.

 

My thoughts as a lab cache mad scientist.

It allowed me to think completely outside the box. We made challenges, we made cachers look for answers in a musuem, we made them go out on a swim platform in the middle of a swimming pond for a special code word. We also had people stick there hands in several mystery holes in a box to find a cache container with a code word in it. They had to touch worms, grasshoppers, and other gross things.

One kind of flopped due to bad weather. We had the regional astronomy club help do a night viewing of Saturn. Unfortunately we had to cancel and I made up for it by hiding a traditional cache with the code and log book.

They were fun to create and let our imaginations soar!

 

Cheating is a potential issue. To make them honest we had a log book with a lock and lock container and code word. They needed to sign the log book when completed with the cache and the cachers had to log the special code word withing a week before the lab caches closed permanently.

 

Which brings me to my next point. In my opinion the lab cache web page is terrible. It doesnt let cachers leave any kind of feedback. Feedback is super important to me as a hider and finder. It keeps them honest and it lets the hider know how things are going. It is the crux of geocaching period. Please make the lab cache pages identical with the regular pages. Integrate it with the system and add the accomplishment prize when completed. The other two cache hiders agree with me 100%. Also to the programmers, please integrate java scripts so you can post youtube videos and flash. This is 2015! Facebook is doing it, gc.com can as well. At least make it so that premium members can do it.

Also please make them available to events not just mega's and giga's. Normal events should be able to do them as well.

 

Overall the feedback from other cachers was excellent. There was a couple of cachers that hated it at first and then they did them and their attitudes changed and want to do more. I for one did them all and enjoyed them immensely. The WB cache bash will for sure be doing them for years to come.

[+mamabear]

Hi matter23, thank you for your feedback. I'm glad to hear you were able to think outside the box and come up with some unique ideas, that's the intention of Lab Caches. We are hoping to roll out some new features in the coming months that will hopefully resolve the challenges and pain points you faced. Stay tuned! Thank you!