Using Google Earth to Teach Kids Culture and Geography

My 10-year-old nephew and I are bookworms. We both love to read in general, but we especially enjoy reading about the lives of other people and places. Last summer, I downloaded Google Earth onto my computer because I thought that he would be interested in exploring the world. After a few hours, we came up with a plan that now includes the entire family. This would be a great geography project for a classroom.

We randomly choose a location by spinning a globe. After the location is chosen, my nephew and I head to library to get any and all information concerning the particular country. Our library has a section devoted completely to "travel videos", so we make use of those as well. While the kids are away at school, I search the internet for local recipes, games and activities and how to say "hello" and "thank you" in the local language. Included in my internet research, I find out the price of airfare and the common mode of transportation that the locals use and the monetary exchange rate. I also scan the borrowed library information and return anything that we will not use.

After the information has been gathered, we begin to plan our "trip". My nephew's job is to print out a map of the country and find and mark the points of interest. (All tourists need a map!) He then marks the locations onto Google Earth. (All tour guides need to know where they are going!) He gathers up the important facts and information that pertains to the locations he chose. We then plan a menu and prepare a meal according to local custom. Sometimes it takes us a few days to find special ingredients; twice we had to have an ingredient shipped to us. Thankfully, both ingredients were found in the United States, so we have not yet needed to pay for international shipping. The younger children in the family are in charge of choosing an art project and a game or two.

After spending several days on research, we enjoy inviting the family over to travel with us. Everyone gathers around my computer and my nephew announces where we are going and who many miles from home we will be traveling. Usually, he takes about 15 -20 minutes as he takes us to the marked locations on the map and gives a brief summary on each location. After our guided tour on Google Earth is over, we explain the local cuisine and I talk briefly about the ingredients that were used. As we eat our meal, we watch a video of the country. We have been able to find a video for just about all countries that we've visited so far.

After the meal is over, we rate it. Just in case you are wondering...no I have never served bugs or beetles...even if it is a popular food of the country. Our rating scale consists of a few things: 1) flavor (good or bad) 2) taste description 3) Favorite food

We always place the library books on the coffee table and encourage family members to scan through them. After dinner, we play the games and continue to answer questions about the country and it's culture. Some like to revisit the Google Earth locations on their own. Others enjoy quizzing my nephew's knowledge. Everyone always has a wonderful time.

Travel experience:

We have visited all 50 states in the US. When we prepared for these trips, we requested a packet of state information and tourist locations from each. Most states sent us free road maps. When we visited the US states, we visited the states by region. Otherwise, it would have taken us a year to travel to each state each week. California, Hawaii and Alaska were the only three states we visited one at a time due to size, content and culture, respectively

We have visited 15 countries. We were actually suprised to learn how many countries speak English as the main language.

We have been "traveling" for 11 months now, arriving at a "destination" almost weekly. What originally started as a way to entertain a bored child, has turned into a family event that everyone benefits from. Google Earth is a wonder tool and it is free to download.