Geocachingggg

Geocaching is in interactive sport that is being played by millions of people all across the globe. With the help of a GPS, these people seek to find geocaches, which are waterproof containers hidden for this very purpose. There of over a million geocaches worldwide. Inside, there is a log where one can write to say that they found it. It is almost like a large scale treasure hunting game, or game of hide-and-seek. People even trade items through the sport, by placing something of theirs inside the geocaches. Here is the link to the official geocaching website:

http://www.geocaching.com

This week in lab, we were able to do our own geocaching activity. Here is a map of where we walked to find our little treasures:

Here's what we found at the different stations:

Starting Point: This is where we began our route and found our first item. It was a metal black keychain with a rolled up piece of paper inside. It was pinned between a bike rack and the side of the building.

2. Here, we found a clear container with a white cap with black-eyed peas inside.

3.The 3rd item was inside the pole on the stop sign. It was a red container with a piece of paper inside.

4. The 4th was a prescription pill bottle with Tabasco sauce inside.

5. At the 5th location where we found a pill bottle with soda tabs inside.

6. Here, we found a clear bottle with chalk inside.

7. Here, we found a battery in a clear bottle.

Final Point: At our last point we found a pill bottle with magnets and a little toy car inside.

With the use of GPS devices, environmental studies and research has changed drastically over the past few years, and will continue to change as technologies further improve. With the use of these systems, tracking, mapping, and plotting can be done like never before. By collecting positional information, scientists can now analyze from a new perspective. Patterns and trends (such as the migrating pattern of a specific species) can be better explored through GPS data. Maps can be more easily created and filled with accurate detail. Environmental scientists can also more quickly locate places of interest. This is especially helpful in locating environmental disasters.