The Connecticut State Museum of Natural History, part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at UConn, will hold a GPS and geocaching activity on Saturday, August 23, 10 am to 12 noon. Extension Educator Cary Chadwick, with the Center for Land Use Education and Research (CLEAR) at UConn, will lead the program.
Originally, the Global Positioning System (GPS) was developed for military use as a navigational aid. Today, the general public has access to this satellite-based technology, and using hand-held GPS devices they can participate in geocaching, a high-tech treasure hunt. The idea behind geocaching is to locate outdoor hidden containers, called geocaches, by using GPS coordinates listed on the Geocaching website, and then share your experiences with others online. Currently, there are 2,302,719 active geocaches and over 6 million participants worldwide!
Cary Chadwick of UConn’s Center for Land Use Education and Research will teach you how to use a handheld GPS unit. Then, everyone will go outdoors and hunt for practice caches using the coordinates given to you. One of these will be an officially registered geocache that you can list online as your first. Join us for this opportunity to learn about this fun-filled combination of hiking and treasure hunting, high tech style!
The program fee is $20, $15 for Museum members. Advance registration is required. This program is for adults and children ages 8 and above. Children must be accompanied by an adult. For registration information visit http://www.cac.uconn.edu/mnhcurrentcalendar or call 860-486-4460. Find us on Facebook.
Presented by the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History, part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at UConn.
For more information, contact: Natural History Museum at 860.486.4460