View Full Version : I'm looking for fun AT facts and such
Hey everyone, I'm starting my thru hike at the end of the month and my little cousin wants me to come talk to his 4th grade class about it. What things do you think I should talk about to fourth graders? I'll show them my gear, go over safety/first aid stuff and talk about animals (cause every little kid likes animals)... anything else?
Thanks!
Jester2000
02-06-2010, 21:00
Bring a map, or make sure there's one in the classroom so you can show them where the trail goes.
I bet 4th graders would like to hear about pooping in the woods. Not sure how the teacher would feel about that, though.
Also, talk about not showering for long periods of time.
JustaTouron
02-06-2010, 21:09
Teach them how to make smores. Yeah, I know that ain't a staple of an AT hikers diet, but the 4th graders will love it.
sasquatch2014
02-06-2010, 21:36
Ask them what the longest car trip they have ever taken. the fact that you are planning on walking a distance that most have never travel at one shot in a car will blow their little 4th grade minds.
Have you pack fully loaded and give them a chance to walk it around the class room. That should be fun as well.
berkshirebirder
02-06-2010, 22:37
The pack is a great idea. If you have time and can keep an eye on the gear, you could show them what you consider the most important pieces--e.g. water filter--and how they're used.
Also, it might be worthwhile to mention how important volunteers are in maintaining the Trail.
johnnybgood
02-07-2010, 00:34
Bring in dehydrated food and other non-perishables in ziplock bags for them to see.
Show them some of the gear thats needed and why it's so important to learn "leave no trace" principals.
Bring pictures of the trail ,i.e. Grayson Highlands' ponies ,or a sunset atop Max Patch ,anything interesting.
Ox97GaMe
02-07-2010, 01:01
Gear demonstration is always good. I did a presentation to a class of 10 yr olds after I finished my hike. I asked them what daily activities their family did at home. As they came up with an answer, I would show them what I had to carry in my pack to perform that activity.
Examples:
Get a drink = filter or purify from stream and put in Nalgene or Platy
Cook dinner = assemble stove, choose food options, cook dinner
Bathroom = trowel and ziplock bag of TP
Sleeping = set up shelter, sleeping pad, sleeping bag (talked about different types of shelter; trial shelter, tent, hammock, tarp)
They also were very impressed with exactly how far it was on a map. I showed them the starting point and the ending point, and the 14 states along the way. I picked a location about 15 miles from their school and had them imagine walking that every day, for 5 months.
What I also found was I had to keep some control over Q&A. Every kid will jump in with at least one question and you could spend the whole time just answering them and not really talking about the trail.
Another suggestion, since you are doing this before your hike, is to talk about town stops and mail drops. Give the teacher your town stop schedule so the kids can write letters. You should also send postcard from various points along the trail so they can follow as you go.
Have a great trip. hope to see you out on the trail. :)
Give them each a snickers bar, and tell them how many of them you will likely eat on your trip...they will be amazed...and they will want to thru-hike too.
Cookerhiker
02-07-2010, 10:00
Good ideas so far. Maybe something on water treatment, especially if you use a pump/filter or steripen.
You could do something with math and the number of steps one takes from Mane to Georgia.
I think the classic answer to that question is 5 million.
Wrangler88
02-07-2010, 14:01
Or the total elevation gain ... I think I read on here that it is like climbing up Everest several times. I think they'd be impressed with that.
http://www.appalachiantrail.org/site/c.mqLTIYOwGlF/b.4805401/k.8865/About_the_Trail.htm
Also, there are a lot of neat facts on this page and a couple others that are easy to navigate to from this page.
Jack Tarlin
02-07-2010, 14:38
Kids that age are really into animals so make sure and talk about Trail wildlife.
(Meaning most of your comments will likely be about snakes and bears!)
Note to original poster: I have extra copies of the long "Strip map" of the entire Trail. PM me your address and I'll send you some.
mweinstone
02-07-2010, 16:16
take a page from abortion clinic protesters. display large full color graphic photos of city kids smokeing crack. then just ask who would rather go looking for salamanders.
Jester2000
02-07-2010, 16:18
Jesus, Matty. Dial it back a notch or two.
Factoid: The AT passes through a real zoo near Bear Mountain Bridge in New York, which has various wild animals located in that vicinity which have been placed into captivity to protect them from harm (usually injured wild animals, but I suspect the black bears in there were "problem bears" before they were incarcerated :D).
Phlashlite
02-07-2010, 17:22
Tell them what a trail angel and trail magic are. Have them plan a mail drop and how difficult it is to have it there when you are. Talk about care of your feet. explain how everyone is equal on the trail.
Give them each a snickers bar, and tell them how many of them you will likely eat on your trip...they will be amazed...and they will want to thru-hike too.
WARNING: Snickers Bars (and other trail food) often contain peanuts (or peanut butter). Many school districts now have policies against bringing peanut products to school. In some States, there are even State LAWS regarding bringing peanut products to schools.
I am not saying that I agree or disagree with the policies/laws. However, you probably need to be aware of such things before you bring any food to school.
Here are some articles regarding peanuts at schools:
http://www.projo.com/news/content/peanut_free_classrooms_12-05-08_L5CGVO9_v17.3b9c18c.html
http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local-beat/Highwood_School_Bans_Peanuts.html
http://www.cga.ct.gov/2008/rpt/2008-R-0472.htm
thelowend
02-08-2010, 02:21
^jesus.. frikin nazis
Jayboflavin04
02-08-2010, 08:31
Contact wrong way. He did something similar after his thru!
white_russian
02-08-2010, 10:50
^jesus.. frikin nazisI know it. Why can't society just face the facts about natural selection and let it do its thing.
paradoxb3
02-08-2010, 11:13
I'm looking for fun AT facts and such
Here's one... "The appalachian Trail is so long, that if you layed it out on the ground end to end it would go from Georgia all the way to Maine!" Ok sorry I couldn't resist... Is anyone else tired of these types of comparisons you hear so often on shows like "Modern Marvels" and "How Its Made"? They're always talking about how many hot dogs and such that we consume, and how many times they would go to the moon and back, or around the earth... etc...
Ok, I got distracted... But I love reading these threads when they come up. I'm thinking I may speak to a class after I go on my thru, and theres always some good advice mentioned in each of them. I guess a class speach is a common thing thru-hikers are asked for huh?
I did this once... my advice would be to bring your tent. Set it up in the classroom... the kids I talked to loved seeing the tent set up. If it's not free-standing (mine wasn't), enlist a few kids to be "tent pegs" and hold down the corners. Make sure to switch them out though so those kids will also get a chance to climb inside.
They'll ask a lot about what is dangerous out there.
At that age they start just telling stories instead of asking questions, so be prepared to listen to a story or two without any question attached.
^jesus.. frikin nazis
People go nuts over this stuff. :D
Regardless, peanut-free mania has quite an effect on companies. My wife works for a large confectionery company with several plants, some have been made nut-free to the point the employees at those facilities can't bring a peanut butter sandwich into the lunchroom. That multiplies the issues regarding process equipment not only there but suppliers, etc. Pretty expensive stuff but one could ask Toyota about supplier issues this week.
Weirdly, our daughter attends the public school in a township of 20,000 with the corporate offices and 3 factories of the confectionery company, plus some other tax paying facilities of a tourism affiliate using the same brands - but t the beginning of this year the school issued a 6 point type list covering a page saying which items stating only those brands of items that can be sent to school. On this 60+ item list there was exactly one item made by that confectionery company.
About a month later we got a revised list with a second page added. :-?