gcook1 Posted September 30, 2002 Share Posted September 30, 2002 I'm going to take my Cub Scout den on our first geocach search. Before we go, I'd like to teach them some of this stuff. Problem is...I don't know it very well either! Does anyone know of a good teaching tool to learn compass use, latitude/logitude, what those degrees and minutes mean, etc? Internet sites would be a great help! Thanks! Quote Link to comment
+Markwell Posted September 30, 2002 Share Posted September 30, 2002 See my post here and then take a look at the entire forum here. Markwell Chicago Geocaching Quote Link to comment
+Moore9KSUcats Posted September 30, 2002 Share Posted September 30, 2002 We took our son's cub scout den on a modified cache hunt. There were about 10 youth with us on a weekend campout. When we got to the campsite, my husband and I started hiking and spotted likely sites to use. Before we came, we set up 10 goodie bags (ziplock) with identical items in it (whistle, small pocketknife, and stocking cap). Using 5 chosen sites, we hid 5 of the bags, and took 5 kids out with us. We chose different types of hides, and different terrain, and tried to set it so they would have to decide on a direct vs better route (one around a small inlet). We explained the concept of geocaching, and how the system works (4th grade level), and each scout took turns at leading to a cache. They decided ahead that the one leading got the goodies, but everyone could help look. Each got a turn leading the group on the hike, and everyone got a goodie bag, and we also explained the "cache in, trash out" concept, and minimal damage to the area. We then reset the bags, and took the other group out on the trip. They all seemed to have a ball with this, and proudly wore their hats the rest of the weekend!. The major difference was that we didn't "trade" items, but each got a prize bag. Since then, we took one of the scouts with us on a cache jaunt, and he really enjoyed it! (He also got a really cool knife from one of the caches, too.) Good luck on working with your kids! Quote Link to comment
+ZachNLiam Posted September 30, 2002 Share Posted September 30, 2002 My boys both LOVE geocaching. My 9 year old has a Legend (a Bday present when I realized how he really understood the maps on my MAP76) and my 6 year old has his older brother's eTrex yellow. They love going after the caches, and I usually hang behind them and let them zero out first. They are SO excited when they can get it completely on their own. They got the hang of this after only a few cache hunts - but my 9 year old does ask LOTS of questions, and is very interested in gps units in general (he has the Garmin brochure memorized!). I think it works well to take them on a hunt with a preprogrammed gps, let them do it and THEN start to explain the things that make it work. They can really visualize how all this happens when they've done it themselves. BTW, he's having a geocaching birthday party soon! Quote Link to comment
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