High-Tech Easter Egg Hunts and GPS Tracking and Geocaching
17 Mar 2016The Easter egg hunt has gone high tech. The modern technology of GPS tracking has allowed the rise of geocaching and high-tech scavenger hunts. Why not setting its sights on Easter egg hunts?
Organizers of the annual Winter Park Easter hunt in Boulder Junction, Wisconsin have done just that. They’ve hidden 12 large buckets of eggs in the park for families to find aided by GPS tracking, according to Oregon Live.
The combination of the traditional Easter egg hunt with the new twist of technology through geocaching is boosting interest in and attracting more families to the hunt.
Boulder Junction, Wisconsin isn’t the only location exploring the benefits of combining the standard Easter egg hunt with the thrill of Geocaching.
At Brodhead Park in Stroudsburg, PA, for instance, two women are hosting a traditional hunt while simultaneously launching three new permanent caches. Their intention is to hide the GPS coordinates for the new caches among the hundreds of eggs in the park. Their hope is that the egg hunt will serve to jump-start the geocaching season which traditionally begins later in the year.
While some people fear that GPS tracking takes the fun out of the hunt, nothing could be further from the truth. In many ways, it raises the difficulty. The GPS tracking device only brings egg hunters within so many feet of the target. Discover Magazine indicates that can be anywhere from six to 20 feet. Then it is up to the searchers to find which rock, boulder, tuft of grass, or pile of leaves the egg is buried under – before someone else comes along and finds it.
Closer to home parents can use GPS to map out their hiding spots and make sure that all eggs were collected – critically important if you use real eggs. No one wants to find a forgotten Easter egg the first time you mow for the season. Yuck!
It might also help parents of teens get their kids engaged in the Easter egg hunt this year as it is something new and can be more than a little exciting. Not only does it get older kids involved in the hunt, but it also teaches younger kids about different ways technology can be used – aside from the obvious option of playing video games.
If you want to get teens involved, consider setting up eggs along a nature trail or through the woodd. Give them GPS tracking devices and tell them to follow the trail to reach their destinations. This helps with map reading skills, orienteering, and good clean fun.
GPS technology is certainly bridging the gap between generations and creating new ways to have fun with a few favorite old traditions. How can you use GPS tracking to make old activities fun for a new generation?
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