Take a Virtual Vacation
Take an Imaginary Vacation for Fun and Learning.
Can't afford the time or tremendous expense of a vacation? Well, you can go on an imaginary journey and see some sights and have a ton of fun on a virtual vacation.
How would you like to take a trip? No money? No time off school? Well, go anyway--without leaving town. If you can't go take a literal vacation, why not take a virtual one?
Just think about it ! Where have you always wanted to go? What places are you curious about? What continent, country, state or city would you like to see? Have you ever wished to see the Egyptian pyramids? Where do you want to go someday? What place would you like to go to?
For this activity you will need some books, an atlas, or some maps, a binder or a scrapbook, a small suitcase, encyclopedias and access to the library and or the Internet. Have you picked your vacation site? How about France?
Start by locating your place on a map and outlining its shape on a piece of paper. Color and label your map. Decorate the page to go in the front of your scrapbook.
The next step is to read and study your place. Say you picked Indiana in the United States of America. Find Indiana and draw a map of it. Learn where it is. Look it up in an encyclopedia for further study. What's the state nickname? Why? What other facts can you learn? What animals or birds are unique to the place? As you gather books, and materials for your trip put them into the suitcase. When you go to the library carry it with you.
Now pick the precise destination. You want to go to Indianapolis? Okay . Find it on your map and mark it. What can you learn about it? What is it famous for? What famous people have lived there? What is exciting? What would you choose to see if you could go there?
Try witing to the tourist bureau of the state and asking them to send free tourist information about the state and the city. Make a list of famous places there -points of interest that you want to see while you are visiting. Try this site for U.S. travel sites and photographs. Click on the site you want to see.
How about the Indianapolis Speedway? All Right! There is a cave near Leavenworth called Wyandotte Cave. Why not see the Lincoln Memorial Village? The Brown County Art Galleries? James Witcomb Riley's Home? Covered bridges in parke County.
Go to the library and check out some books about Indiana or whatever vacation spot you have chosen. If you picked a foreign country--what is its language? Who lives there? What are the people like? How do they dress? What do they produce? What do they eat?
How about taking a tour of a site on the internet? Here is an internet tour of Plimoth Plantation in New England so you can see how it works. Many tourist sites have such virtual tours available.
Prepare a meal with food from your vacation spot. Nearly everyplace has an ethnic food or a popular regional favorite. Find out what the people eat. The grocery store may carry food items which are popular in your place. Dress up for your vacation meal. Decorate and make this a special meal. invite a guest or two to eat with you.
From the Internet you can see and copy prints of place pictures to put in your scrapbook. label the pictures as if you had really visited each. Example: Paste in a photo of the St. Louis arch and label it like this: "This is the St. Louis Arch. The lower level has a western expansion museum. The trip to the top of the arch in the tram was scary but thrilling!" "Here is a photo shot of the Cardinals baseball stadium." For reality's sake, add some photos of yourself and your family members with blurbs like this: "Here we all are in our Cardinals t-shirts by the Mississippi River bridge."
The scrapbook is important to really make you feel the vacation. Put in it all the things that interest you about the trip. Also keep your scissors, glue and markers or whatever scrapbook supplies and paper materials you will need.
What you could see there, what you'd eat, who you'd meet, what you'd pass to get there? What rivers would you cross? Mountains? Other cities of interest? Stretch and splurge. Why, this vacation is all free, so see everything, do it all! A road map should be included with the route marked in yellow highlighter. Tourist brochures of the vacation site can be cut up for photos and blurbs about the place and its sights.
When will you go? How will the weather be there? Make up a list called What to pack. What form of transportation are you using? Going by plane, renting a car at any point? By train? Bus? Your own vehicle? Who is traveling with you? When are you leaving? When do you get back? Is it a three week trip or a three day stay? Decide and plan.
Use the Internet to look for hotels, resorts, or super interesting spots to stay. Money is no objective so pick some great adventures.
Are you packed yet? When do we leave?
