Ninety students trekked through Discovery Park on a Thursday in March, armed with handheld GPS (global positioning system) units, pocket PCs and cameras in search of small two-inch caches (treasures).
The day was gifted to Stella Schola Middle School through a grant from the Lake Washington Schools Foundation and a generous donation from Playtime Inc.
A GPS unit is an electronic device that can determine a person's approximate location (within around 6 to 20 feet) anywhere on the planet. Coordinates are normally given in longitude and latitude.
A person can use the unit to navigate from their current location to another location. Some units have their own maps, built-in electronic compasses, and voice navigation, depending on the complexity of the device.
Geocaching is an entertaining adventure game for GPS users. Participating in a cache hunt is a good way to take advantage of the wonderful features and capability of a GPS unit. The basic idea is for students to use their GPS unit through location coordinates to find the caches (small trinket treasures or pre-planted information/clues to solve a bigger puzzle).
MULTI-AGE TEAMS
Students were grouped in multi-age teams to navigate a 3.5 mile course designed just for Stella Schola Middle School at Discovery Park in Seattle.
Students got training on how to use a hand-held GPS unit and each student had their own for the day! "Be on the lookout!" student Christopher Moore advised as his team slogged through the blackberry bushes in the Seattle Park.
Another group used teamwork to hoist seventh-grader, Lyle Rudnicki, up into the crux of a tree where he triumphantly held up the cache, while eighth-grade teacher Mark Gorchels snapped a digital picture to prove they had found the cache.
Stella Schola staff plans to extend the GPS experience to practice skills including orienteering (science), finding locations using latitude and longitude (social studies) and group problem solving in the future[[In-content Ad]]
