Shane Bradt, Geospatial Technology Extension Specialist and Trent Schriefer, 4-H Youth Science and Technology Extension Specialist, offered a hands-on, 4-H youth-oriented GPS training recently in Laconia.

Operation Military Kids staff and 4-H educators attended the training, "Pictures, Points and Places," introducing a new "GPS Treasure Hunt" 4-H kit developed by Schriefer and Bradt.

Training provided opportunities to learn how to collect waypoints, navigate using GPS units and implement the GPS Treasure Hunt kit as a teaching tool. Following the 4-H experiential learning model, participants used 4-H owned GPS units to navigate GPS waypoints to discover the locations of the treasure (candy and tokens). This simple exercise introduced the concepts of GPS, navigation and the sport of "geocaching."

Geocaching is an outdoor treasure-hunting game in which participants use a Global Positioning system (GPS) receiver or other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers (called "geocaches” or "caches") anywhere in the world. A typical cache is a small waterproof container with a logbook and "treasure," usually toys or trinkets of little value. Today, well over 800,000 geocaches are registered on various websites devoted to this pastime. Geocaches are currently placed in over 100 countries around the world and on all seven continents, including Antarctica.

The goal of this training was to engage 4-H educators and OMK staff in geospatial technologies, provide materials to conduct youth programs in GPS and to further promote the 4-H Science, Engineering and Technology initiative.

The workshop participants in the above photo are shown with their new teaching kits. For information on partnering with 4-H SET, contact Trent Schriefer at trent.schriefer@unh.edu