[Editor’s note: If your on the East Coast the next couple months and looking to entertain kids (or your inner kid), check out the GPS Adventures geocaching experience at the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore, just an hour’s drive from Washington, DC. Requires modest entrance fee. After Baltimore, the exhibit heads to Redding, California, and then Dayton Ohio. Thanks Dan!]
Republished from Maryland Science Center.
Video above is “The Thrill is in the Hunt” from the Pacific Science Center.
Opens this Saturday, thru April 18th.
Directions, hours and price »
Get Lost!
GPS Adventures is a life-sized maze exhibition introducing visitors to cutting-edge Global Positioning Systems (GPS) through Geocaching–a family friendly treasure hunting game. More than three million people around the world are on the hunt for nearly a half million hidden treasures. In addition to hidden booty, these geocachers are finding the real treasure: reconnecting with family, community and nature in a meaningful way.
Exhibit highlights
- Discover how GPS Technology is changing the way we live
- Join the global treasure hunt movement known as geocaching
- Use navigation, memory, and critical thinking to get through the maze
New navigation for a new kind of treasure hunt
GPS technology is changing the way we live. It can be found in surprising places from cars to cell phones and is the backbone of the global treasure hunting game geocaching. Get lost in the maze and learn how to find your way using GPS. Visitors simulate a GPS adventure using a unique stamp card that leads you to your own Treasure City. By collecting all 4 stamps you can better understand how satellite technology uses plotting to determine your exact location on the planet.
Understand how satellites pinpoint your position on the globe
Once visitors collect all 4 stamps visitors navigate the maze. Navigate around impossible obstacles including waterfalls, cliffs and ravines to solve cache puzzles in four environments: city, local park, backcountry and an historic site to find secret codes and gain access to each of the satellite rooms. Learn about maps, compasses and geography along the way.
Join the community of modern day treasure hunters–geocachers!
Meet Signal Frog—your helpful guide along the way. Try on the latest outdoor gear and insert yourself into an outdoors-themed magazine cover. Short, funny videos give an insider peak at the outdoor adventure of geocaching. Interactive displays throughout the maze help visitors understand exactly how GPS works and how an outdoor treasure hunt using GPS navigation and deciphering clues has become a worldwide phenomenon with families and groups who embark on these 21st century treasure hunts.
