Belt Loop
Complete these three requirements
- Make a list of things you would take on a threeday trip with your family, then pack these items in a bag or suitcase.
- With an adult’s help, figure out the cost and miles to complete a trip to a place of interest using the family car or public transportation.
- Research at least five places to visit during a trip to a place of interest. Explain what you learned to your family.Tell a story or relate an incident to a group of people, such as your family, den, or members of your class.
Academics Pin
Earn the Family Travel belt loop and complete five of the following requirements.
- Go on a trip with your family that includes at least one overnight stay. Keep a journal of your trip and then share it with your den leader.
- Play a travel game while traveling in a car.
- With an adult, review the Guide to Safe Scouting, chapter XII, “Transportation.” Then make a list of safety rules to follow when traveling in the car or while using public transportation such as a bus, plane, boat, and train. Share the list with your den.
- With the help of a parent or adult partner, use a computer to look up an airfare from your closest airport to a city in a foreign country. Calculate the total travel time, the day and time you will leave your home, and the day and time you will arrive at your destination.
- Visit a travel agent office or look up a travel Web site.
- Using pictures, explain to a family member how people’s forms of transportation have changed in the last 300 years.
- Visit with an adult who has driven in a different country. List five things that the adult found to be very different from driving in the United States.
- Make a list of occupations that people have that are related to traveling. Describe the position you would like to try. Explain to a family member why you chose that occupation.
- Learn how to apply for a U.S. passport. With adult supervision, read an actual application and complete as much of the form as you can.
- Change $1,000 U.S. dollars into pounds, Euros, or pesos.
- With an adult, conduct a motor vehicle inspection of the car designated for traveling. Use the checklist provided in the Guide to Safe Scouting appendix, called “Annual Motor Vehicle Checklist.” The appendix to the Guidecan be found at www.scouting.org/scoutsource/HealthandSafety/GSS/gssax.aspx.
Additional Information
Car Safety Rules
- Be sure the vehicle is in good repair.
- Always wear a seatbelt.
- Do not distract the driver.
- When stopping, use the buddy system.
- Leave nothing valuable in the car.
- Do not exit the car on the traffic side.
- Do a head count before starting out again.
Hotel Safety Rules
- Know how to call 911.
- Know where the fire exits are located.
- Sleep with a light next to your bed.
- Never answer the door unless you know who is on the other side and you have your parent’s permission
Travel Games
Color Match: Choose a color and watch out the window for objects of the same color. Try to find ten objects before choosing a new color.
Alphabet Game: Using the alphabet, starting with A, watch out the window for road signs, billboards, store signs, etc., that begin with the call letter. Once you find an “A,” move on to “B,” and so on until you have completed the alphabet.
Number Game: Similar to the alphabet game, but using numbers. Watch out the window for numbers from 1 through 9, in order.
I See It!: Make a list of things to watch for during the drive. Items could be put on a bingo card for kids to color in the square when the item is seen. The list could include animals, trees, plants, mountains, fences, buildings, billboards, schools, places of worship, different types vehicles, lakes, railroad signs or tracks, etc.
Tic-Tac-Toe: Print out lots of tic-tac-toe sheets for everyone to play!
License Plate Game: See how many different license plates you can find. Keep track of the states.
Books for Travel
Everything Kids’ Travel Activity Book by Erik A. Hanson and Jeanne Hanson. Adams Media, 2002.
Frommer’s 500 Places to Take Your Kids Before They Grow Up by Holly Hughes. Frommer’s, 2006.
Kid’s Trip Diary by Loris Bree and Marlin Bree. Marlor Press, 2007.
Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss. Random House Books for Young Readers, 1993.
Our 50 States: A Family Adventure Across America by Lynne Cheney. Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, 2006.
Resources
Your local library, schools, and the Internet all are excellent sources for travel information.
- To find out how to apply for a U.S. passport, visit http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html.
- To convert U.S. currency to another currency, visit http://finance.yahoo.com/currency?u.
- To find a map of a place of interest, visit http://maps.google.com/maps or http://www.mapquest.com.
- To find out which side of the road drivers in other countries drive on, visit http://www.brianlucas.ca/roadside.
- To learn what you can and can’t take on an airplane, visit http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/index.shtm.
- To find travel games for kids, visit http://www.kidsturncentral.com/summer/travelgames.htm
