In January, I released four travel bugs created by my 2nd grade classes. A travel bug is a trackable tag that you attach to an item. The item can then be tracked on Geocaching.com as it moves from cache to cache (or person to person) in the real world.
Creating the Travel Bug:
Many people attach their trackable tags to items such as keychains, stuffed toys, or other small objects. I wanted my kids to make their own trackable item but couldn't figure out what we could make that would be durable enough to last through caching adventures. Besides durability, I also had to figure out a way to have every child in the class be part of creating the bug. Finally, I decided to use my SmartBoard and the drawing program Early Learning Toolkit to create the bugs. Using the SmartBoard, each child in the class drew one part of the bug, adding on to what was drawn before them. Next, each class voted on a name for their bug as well as writing the goal for their bugs. The kids were very creative!
Mr. Frecklehead would like to travel to Paris and see the Eiffel Tower.
Nugget would like to travel around the world and see as many places as he can.
Boogler wants to reach Alaska and see the Iditarod.
Lightning Bug wants to reach Hollywood to star in her own television show.
Releasing the Travel Bugs
Before releasing the bugs, I had them laminated as luggage tags. I then added the trackable tags that I purchased from Groundspeak. Three of the bugs were sent to an acquaintance in Michigan who will release the bugs in different caches as she travels for work. One of the bugs stayed back and was placed in a local cache.
Tracking the Travel Bugs
As travel bugs are retrieved from and dropped off in caches, their movements are logged on the Geocaching.com website. I have set my account to send me email notifications anytime a bug is moved. I have also created a Google Map to keep track of each bug's movements. Finally, I have a large map in my classroom where the students will place pins when the bugs are moved.
