KQED QUEST » outdoors

EarthCaches: Learning Through Hide-and-Seek

Andrew Alden — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 19:58:03 +0000

_{Get out of town and learn about Round Top, Oakland's own volcano, with an EarthCache. All photos by Andrew Alden.}The 21st-century sport of geocaching is providing a new way to teach and learn about geology. Geocaching prompts people sitting at a computer to do what our parents always urged—go out and play. And a new twist in the game replaces the traditional payoff of choosing a trinket from a hidden stash with a short personal lecture on the rocks at your feet or the landscape around you. This type of geocache is called an EarthCache.

By now you must have heard of geocaching, the self-guided sport that takes players into the great outdoors by combining GPS wayfinding technology with geographic clues on the web. In the basic game, you get the location of a hidden box on a geocaching website—just a latitude and longitude. Using your GPS unit, you make your way to that spot, find the container and score a point by recording the achievement.

This is a good way to have fun in the outdoors with a minimum of rules and structure. Millions of people have played, and more than a million geocaches are registered around the world.

The first time I was exposed to geocaching was in 2004: I was out to explore the southern Diablo Range, and my friend came along to find some caches there.

_{A geocache in an ammo box lurks in a boulder pile; a logbook and assorted trinkets are inside.}

He found his first cache of the day in a boulder pile, a place with a superb view of the inner Coast Range. He opened the box, traded one of his trinkets for another, and left his name in the logbook. Then we sat and talked about what we were seeing in front of us.

_{Concretions and tafoni in the southern Diablo Range.}

I showed him concretions sticking out of sandstone beds; we poked our heads through the large erosional holes called tafoni. We photographed old smelting works, collected a few stones, visited a mineral dealer at home, lunched on the porch of an abandoned house.

That's the way to learn about geology. A ramble along a path or roadside in the company of a teacher is the best way to learn, but such a thing can be hard to arrange. I've done that kind of teaching to groups—it's fun and rewarding and a lot of work. An EarthCache is the next best thing: instead of finding a hidden box, you just show up. And instead of trading trinkets, you read a lesson about what's in front of you.

There are more than 10,000 EarthCaches listed on the EarthCache website. Each one has a geology lesson associated with it approved by the Geological Society of America, plus a task you must perform to prove that you visited. You email your proof to the EarthCache site, and that's what it's all about.

A few EarthCaches in the Bay area:

Round Top, Oakland (shown here)
South of Fort Funston, San Francisco
View from Windy Hill, San Mateo Peninsula
Volcanic rocks of the Pinnacles
Marine terraces in Santa Cruz
Point Reyes earthquake trail

37.8500605 -122.1949017

Tags: geocaching, Geology, outdoors, science teaching, sports

Exploring Big Break Regional Shoreline

Craig Rosa — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 20:12:41 +0000

Quest Educational Resources

Print Guide - Big Break Regional Shoreline Science Hike ( pdf ) Download a printable version of this Science Hike complete with directions, maps, and photos.
Big Break Regional Shoreline KML file ( kml ) Open this Science Hike in Google Earth by downloading the KML version of this map.
Tips to get the kids in your life out into nature ( pdf ) Here is a quick "cheat sheet" of helpful tips to keep "Nature Deficit Disorder" at bay with kids.
Designing an Exploration on Google Maps ( pdf ) Like the Explorations on the QUEST site? Use this place-based educational guide for educators and group leaders to create similar science-based maps with youth.

Additional Links

Tags: big break, hiking, outdoors, pbs, san francisco, san francisco bay, Science

Exploring the Lower Russian River

Chris Bauer — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 02:49:20 +0000

Quest Educational Resources

Print Guide - Lower Russian River ( pdf ) Download a printable version of this Science Hike complete with directions, maps, and photos.
Lower Russian River KML File ( kml ) Open this Science Hike in Google Earth by downloading the KML version of this map.
Tips to get the kids in your life out into nature ( pdf ) Here is a quick "cheat sheet" of helpful tips to keep "Nature Deficit Disorder" at bay with kids.
Designing an Exploration on Google Maps ( pdf ) Like the Explorations on the QUEST site? Use this place-based educational guide for educators and group leaders to create similar science-based maps with youth.

Additional Links

Tags: hiking, kayak, osprey, outdoors, pbs, Russian River, salmon, san francisco, san francisco bay, Science

Exploring the Pulgas Water Temple area

Craig Rosa — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 10:29:51 +0000

Quest Educational Resources

Print Guide - Pulgas Water Temple Area ( pdf ) Download a printable version of this Science Hike complete with directions, maps, and photos.
Pulgas Water Temple Area KML File ( kml ) Open this Science Hike in Google Earth by downloading the KML version of this map.
Tips to get the kids in your life out into nature ( pdf ) Here is a quick "cheat sheet" of helpful tips to keep "Nature Deficit Disorder" at bay with kids.
Designing an Exploration on Google Maps ( pdf ) Like the Explorations on the QUEST site? Use this place-based educational guide for educators and group leaders to create similar science-based maps with youth.

Additional Links

Pulgas Water Temple

Tags: hiking, outdoors, pbs, pulgas water temple, redwood city, san francisco, san francisco bay, san mateo, Science, water, WPA

Exploring Angel Island

Craig Rosa — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:57:53 +0000

Quest Educational Resources

Print Guide - Angel Island ( pdf ) Download a printable version of this Science Hike complete with directions, maps, and photos.
Angel Island KML File ( kml ) Open this Science Hike in Google Earth by downloading the KML version of this map.
Tips to get the kids in your life out into nature ( pdf ) Here is a quick "cheat sheet" of helpful tips to keep "Nature Deficit Disorder" at bay with kids.
Designing an Exploration on Google Maps ( pdf ) Like the Explorations on the QUEST site? Use this place-based educational guide for educators and group leaders to create similar science-based maps with youth.

Additional Links

Tags: angel island, fire, hiking, outdoors, pbs, san francisco, san francisco bay, Science

Exploring the Fifield-Cahill Ridge Trail

Craig Rosa — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 07:53:39 +0000

Quest Educational Resources

Print Guide - Fifield-Cahill Ridge Trail ( pdf ) Download a printable version of this Science Hike complete with directions, maps, and photos.
Fifield-Cahill Ridge Trail KML File ( kml ) Open this Science Hike in Google Earth by downloading the KML version of this map.
Tips to get the kids in your life out into nature ( pdf ) Here is a quick "cheat sheet" of helpful tips to keep "Nature Deficit Disorder" at bay with kids.
Designing an Exploration on Google Maps ( pdf ) Like the Explorations on the QUEST site? Use this place-based educational guide for educators and group leaders to create similar science-based maps with youth.

Additional Links

SFWATER.ORG : Fifield-Cahill Ridge Trail

Tags: Fifield-Cahill Ridge Trail, hiking, outdoors, pbs, san francisco, san francisco bay, san mateo county, Science, science_hike, watershed

Exploring the Farallon Islands

Lauren Sommer — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 01:54:49 +0000

Quest Educational Resources

Print Guide - Farallon Islands ( pdf ) Download a printable version of this Science Hike complete with directions, maps, and photos.
Farallon Islands KML File ( kml ) Open this Science Hike in Google Earth by downloading the KML version of this map.
Tips to get the kids in your life out into nature ( pdf ) Here is a quick "cheat sheet" of helpful tips to keep "Nature Deficit Disorder" at bay with kids.
Designing an Exploration on Google Maps ( pdf ) Like the Explorations on the QUEST site? Use this place-based educational guide for educators and group leaders to create similar science-based maps with youth.

Additional Links

Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association

Tags: Farallon Islands, islands, kqed, outdoors, pbs, QUEST, research, reserve, san francisco, Science, science_hike

Exploring Pescadero State Beach

Craig Rosa — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 00:42:25 +0000

Quest Educational Resources

Print Guide - Pescadero State Beach ( pdf ) Download a printable version of this Science Hike complete with directions, maps, and photos.
Pescadero State Beach KML File ( kml ) Open this Science Hike in Google Earth by downloading the KML version of this map.
Tips to get the kids in your life out into nature ( pdf ) Here is a quick "cheat sheet" of helpful tips to keep "Nature Deficit Disorder" at bay with kids.
Designing an Exploration on Google Maps ( pdf ) Like the Explorations on the QUEST site? Use this place-based educational guide for educators and group leaders to create similar science-based maps with youth.

Additional Links

Pescadero State Beach

Tags: arch, beach, driftwood, estuary, flowers, hiking, kqed, outdoors, pbs, pescadero, QUEST, san francisco, Science, science_hike

Exploring Muir Woods National Monument

Lauren Sommer — Fri, 08 May 2009 08:37:42 +0000

Quest Educational Resources

Print Guide - Muir Woods National Monument ( pdf ) Download a printable version of this Science Hike complete with directions, maps, and photos.
Muir Woods National Monument KML File ( kml ) Open this Science Hike in Google Earth by downloading the KML version of this map.
Tips to get the kids in your life out into nature ( pdf ) Here is a quick "cheat sheet" of helpful tips to keep "Nature Deficit Disorder" at bay with kids.
Designing an Exploration on Google Maps ( pdf ) Like the Explorations on the QUEST site? Use this place-based educational guide for educators and group leaders to create similar science-based maps with youth.

Additional Links

Redwood Transect Kit for Educators

Tags: albino redwood, coho, fishery, fungus, hiking, kqed, muir woods, mushrooms, outdoors, pbs, QUEST, restoration, salmon, san francisco, Science, science_hike

Exploring the Natural Bridges State Beach Tidepools

Craig Rosa — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:28:52 +0000

Quest Educational Resources

Print Guide - Natural Bridges State Beach ( pdf ) Download a printable version of this Science Hike complete with directions, maps, and photos.
Natural Bridges State Beach KML file ( kml ) Open this Science Hike in Google Earth by downloading the KML version of this map.
Tips to get the kids in your life out into nature ( pdf ) Here is a quick "cheat sheet" of helpful tips to keep "Nature Deficit Disorder" at bay with kids.
Designing an Exploration on Google Maps ( pdf ) Like the Explorations on the QUEST site? Use this place-based educational guide for educators and group leaders to create similar science-based maps with youth.

Additional Links

Tags: barnacles, beach, hiking, intertidal zone, kelp, kqed, outdoors, pbs, QUEST, san francisco, santa cruz, Science, science_hike, sea stars, sea urchins, tidepools, waves