"A Bug's Life" Geocache Course   

Outdoor Learning Center (OLC) - C-FB ISD

Visitors to the OLC may now participate in one of today's most popular global scavenger hunt games called geocaching.

What is geocaching?

Pronounced Geo Cashing (like cashing a check)...the word Geocaching broken out is GEO for geography, and CACHING for the process of hiding a cache. A cache in computer terms is information usually stored in memory to make it faster to retrieve, but the term is also used in hiking/camping as a hiding place for concealing and preserving provisions. One person hides a container and marks its location using their GPS (global positioning system) receiver. Then they create a cache information page and submit their cache to the website to be released for other geocachers to find. A cache may be as small as a 35 mm film canister (or smaller) to as large as the creator wants to make it. The cache may contain as little as just a piece of paper to use as a log where you sign in that you've found it to a variety of small trade items or even a travel bug. A travel bug is a special 'trade' item that wants to travel from one geocache to another and may have a special mission to complete. The travel bug has a special dog tag with a number that is used to identify it and record who has picked it up or dropped it off and the cache where it is currently located. Caches are rated from 1 to 5 on their level of difficulty to find and the difficulty of the terrain. Stars are used to show the level of difficulty with 1 star being the easiest and 5 being the most difficult.

Geocaching is a world-wide scavenger hunt that requires three things of players:

1) A computer with Internet connection [outside link]

2) A hand-held GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver [outside link]

3) A love of the outdoors [outside link]

The history of geocaching: [outside link]

Basic Geocaching Guide

As of November 27, 2006, there were 335,962 active caches worldwide.
In the 7 days prior to Nov. 27th, there have been 229,072 new logs written by 33,339 account holders.

"A Bug's Life" geocache course was created in the fall of 2006 by the Ted Polk Middle School's GIS Club and is based on the Disney movie "A Bug's Life". There are sixteen caches hidden around the grounds of the OLC. These caches are small 35 mm film canisters, Altoid tins, or pill bottles that have been camouflaged to blend in with their surroundings. Each cache contains a bug card for one of the characters from the movie with a picture of the character on the front and a movie quote, bug fact, or actor fact on the back.

Participants will have a geocache sheet with the cache's story, waypoint (latitude/longitude), difficulty ratings, a description of the cache container, a map showing the general area of the OLC where that cache is located, and some questions to answer including the cache fact from the back of the bug card.

This geocache course is only available through the OLC and these caches will not appear on the official geocaching web site.

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