MnGCA

merkman · Past MnGCA Board Joined: 03 Jun 2006 Posts: 2032

I would but I am not available on the weekdays.

The Ney Nature Center was a really good time.
Anyone thinking of doing something like this it is worth the effort.

sir_zman · Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2007 4:41 pm Post subject:

I might be interested. Can you find out what kind of a time frame they have in mind (both time of day and how long they are allotting to this presentation). Also, what kind of presentation equipment they will have.

Thanks!!

sir_zman · Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 1:22 pm Post subject:

They are looking for a whole day of activities, probably more than one cacher can do by themselves. This was a preliminary itinerary that they sent me:

9:30-11:30 (flexible, anytime from 8-12)) we gather all of the campers at
one location with good presentation technology (sky is the limit here, both
colleges have excellent facilities) and we have someone discuss the
mathematics/history of the Global Positioning system (hopefully at a level
that would reach middle school students).
12-1 transport girls to a fun geocaching location that might have enough
caches for this many people (or we could stash some fun math items
ourselves). Eat lunch at the location.
1:00-2:00 Presentation on geocaching and using gps units at location. (This
might not be a good idea with this many people. We could certainly have
both presentations at one of the schools before heading out to location).
2:00-3:30 Actual hunt for geocaches.

I'm fine helping out with this, but I'm not sure how strong my "mathematics/history of the Global Positioning system" is, don't know if I'd be comfortable presenting this to students while people with phd's in math watch.

merkman · Past MnGCA Board Joined: 03 Jun 2006 Posts: 2032

KC0GRN · Past MnGCA Board Joined: 22 Feb 2004 Posts: 1424

Yeah, it sounds like it'd be a better idea to explain the geocaching and GPS usage during the morning presentation. It could tie in with mathematics/history.

I know I would suck at explaining how the entire system works. While I somewhat have a grasp of it myself, it would take a lot to explain it to others (so much for my 2 years of electronics tech school). There's a lot you could explain to people though, and given the time frame, I can't imagine you could go into too much depth. It'd be best to have a broad overview to keep things interesting. I know if I sat and listened to someone drone on about geo spatial mathematics, radio theory, atomic clocks and algorithms, I'd probably fall asleep.

As for the caching itself, are there going to be enough GPSrs to go around?

sir_zman · Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 7:30 am Post subject:

merkman · Past MnGCA Board Joined: 03 Jun 2006 Posts: 2032

EskoClimber · Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 9:02 am Post subject:

I'm unsure of my schedule at this point but I would like to help. I have two GPS's and according to PH I have the gift of gab. I can also make a study of the history of geocaching.

sir_zman · Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 9:33 am Post subject:

merkman · Past MnGCA Board Joined: 03 Jun 2006 Posts: 2032

I am willing to donate a Copper MN Lady Slipper geocoin (one of 6 made), when they come in, to the MnGCA to auction off on E-bay to raise funds for this effort.
I have seen other fundraising coins go for $100 - $200.
I am not saying this one would go for that kind of money but it could.
Let me know if you guys are interested in that.

sir_zman · Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 9:53 am Post subject:

Maybe we are over thinking this, they said "discuss the
mathematics/history of the Global Positioning system (hopefully at a level
that would reach middle school students). " Since they want it at a middle school level, we shouldn't worry about nitty-gritty math, but more about basic theory, I think a higher level overview of Trilateration and how the GPS uses it would suffice. We can also spend time discussing the history behind it and various applications it is used for today, like farming, and materials tracking.

EskoClimber · Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 11:42 am Post subject:

That was my thought, explain to them that the basic way they work is by the difference between the signals. You don't need to get into the actual nuts and bolts unless they need a nap.
It would be helpful to explain how to determine lat (angle of the sun/stars) and that longitude requires a good watch. A lot of history there that can really get some kids interested. Such as to why sailing beyond the sight of land was an iffy thing to do, etc.
It might be neat to tell them why Columbus thought he was in asia rather than several thousand miles away.

Pear Head · Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 11:50 am Post subject: