Students at the Boys & Girls Club and Fieldale Community Center discovered the world of orienteering with VMNH educators.
First, the students created a compass rose using paper plates. As they designed their compass rose, each student labeled the cardinal directions and assigned an angle to each direction.
Next, using Play-doh to create mountains, students explored and discovered the importance of topographic maps. Creating the mountains helped students draw their own topographic map, which allowed them to understand elevation.
They measured the height of their mountain and divided it into 1 cm increments and placed its sections on a sheet of paper, outlining the perimeter of each section (starting from the top of the mountain to the bottom of the mountain) which allowed them to create their own topographical map.
Lastly, students worked individually or were divided into groups to hide treasure. Putting their orienteering skills to the test, each group was instructed to use bearings, degrees, pace and a compass to find the hidden treasure as well as incorporate prior knowledge and experience based on past lessons from the VMNH educator.
