Virtual Field Trip

Welcome as we explore some of the natural wonders of the world. Pack your

bags, grab your passport and let’s go!

First stop will be Fredericton Airport where we will be boarding a plane to ……….

The Grand Canyon

Welcome to the Grand Canyon. Your task will be to answer the following questions on this great natural wonder.

· How was it formed?· How long have people lived in the Grand Canyon?· How long is it?· What happened in 1919 to the Grand Canyon?· What did Teddy Roosevelt call it?

Some links to aid you:

http://www.arizona-leisure.com/grand-canyon-history.html

http://www.nps.gov/features/grca/001/archeology/index.html

http://www.nps.gov/grca/historyculture/index.htm

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/places/parks-and-nature-places/cave-canyon-desert/us_grandcanyon/

Now that you have completed your tour of the Grand Canyon, it is time to move on to your next destination ………..

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=airplane+landings&view=detail&mid=067BAB353812BA2C572B067BAB353812BA2C572B&first=41&FORM=NVPFVR&qft=+filterui%3aduration-short

Lima, Peru

From Lima you will take a car into the foothills of the Andes Mountains

• What continent(s) are the Andes located in?• How tall is the highest peak?• How many different countries do they go through? Name them.• Name three animals/birds that live in the Andes.• What minerals are mined in the Andes?

Welcome to the Andes Mountains. Your challenge will be to answer the following questions on this breath-taking mountain range.

Andes Mountains links to help in your search:

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/23692/Andes-Mountains

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/andes.htm

http://www.windows2universe.org/geography/andes.html

And with that we bid a fond farewell to the Andes and it’s time to break out your sun-block as we board a plane to …….

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Our natural wonder here is Rio de Janeiro’s spectacular harbour. Answer these questions concerning this natural wonder and the city:

• What is the name of one of the islands in the harbour?

• How was the harbour created? • What famous statue overlooks the harbour? • Name one of the mountains surrounding the bay. • What is the population of Rio de Janeiro?

Here are some useful links to help you learn more about this wonder.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19899130

http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Rio_de_Janeiro.aspx

http://sevennaturalwonders.org/the-original/harbour-of-rio-de-janeiro/

http://homepages.uel.ac.uk/u0910777/Project/Harbor%20of%20Rio%20De%20Janeiro.html

It’s time to say good-bye to South America and the friendly people of Brazil and spread our wings to our next destination ……..

Paricutin Volcano, Mexico

Welcome to Morelia, Mexico and our exploration of the Paricutin Volcano. Don’t worry, it is not in danger of erupting today but just to be safe, we will not be climbing it. Safety first!

• When did the volcano first form?

• What makes this a natural wonder? • How tall is the volcano?

• What was on the land before the volcano formed?

• What was the name of the person who first witnessed the volcano?

Paricutin Volcano links:

http://sevennaturalwonders.org/the-original/paricutin/

http://videos.howstuffworks.com/discovery/29457-assignment-discovery-paricutin-video.htm

http://academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Paricutin_Volcano

http://paricutin.com/default.htm

Now it is time to head east and cross the Atlantic Ocean to Africa. What do you think we are going to discover there?

The Sahara Desert

We are landing in Tunis, Tunisia to explore the Sahara Desert. Looks impressive doesn’t it? Now imagine living in the Sahara Desert. How do you think you would manage living here? What would be your biggest challenge? But today your challenge is to answer these five questions.• What are the three bodies of water that border the Sahara?

• Name 6 countries that the Sahara lies in.

• Is the Sahara the world’s largest desert? Why?

• What is the only river that runs through the Sahara year-round?

• What are three mammals that live in the Sahara?

And you will find your answers here:

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/516375/Sahara

http://geography.about.com/od/locateplacesworldwide/a/saharadesert.htm

http://sevennaturalwonders.org/africa/sahara-desert/

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/places/parks-and-nature-places/cave-canyon-desert/chad_gueltaarchei/

And back we go on our trusty airplane to our next marvel. Want a hint where we are going? You already looked at it while learning about the Sahara.

Cairo, Egypt and the Nile River

Welcome to one of the most famous rivers in the whole world. We hope you enjoy your stay in this ancient land.

• How long is the Nile? • The source of the Nile lies in what country(s)?

• What two rivers merge to form the Nile?

• What made the Nile important for ancient Egyptians?

• What does the Nile do every year that helps farming?

Your resources:

http://videos.howstuffworks.com/discovery/28707-assignment-discovery-uses-of-the-nile-river-video.htm

http://teacherweb.com/WQ/ElementarySchool/AncientEgypt2/nileinfo1.htm

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/415347/Nile-River

http://www.rivernile.co.uk/facts/

I bet you thought we were going to look at pyramids and mummies. While they are amazing, they are not natural wonders. Natural wonders are not built by humans but are created by nature. Maybe next time we visit Egypt we will explore the pyramids. On to our next adventure!

Victoria Falls

Welcome to Livingstone, Zambia. Impressive isn’t it? We will have time for sight-seeing later but first let us complete our reason for visiting this wonder.

• What makes this the world’s largest waterfall? • Who named the falls? When?

• What is the local nickname for the falls?

• What makes the Rain Forest at Victoria Falls special? • What river flows over the falls?

Helpful links:

http://videos.howstuffworks.com/howstuffworks/40464-the-coolest-stuff-on-the-planet-victoria-falls-video.htm

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Victoria_Falls

http://sevennaturalwonders.org/the-original/victoria-falls/

http://www.discoveryuk.com/web/adventure/blog/friday-facts-27-04-2012/

It is time to say goodbye to Africa and hello to our next stop.

Mount Everest

No, we will not be climbing this monster of a mountain but we will be learning about it. I am sure you are wondering where we are in the world, but that will be for you to find out.

• What two countries does Everest lie in?

• What mountain range is Everest in?

• What is Everest also known as?

• Who were the first two people to reach the summit of Everest

• How high is the peak of Everest?

And you will find your answers here:

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/photography/adventure-photography/mount-everest-child/

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2003/05/everest/everest-text

http://sevennaturalwonders.org/the-original/mount-everest/

http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/media/mount-everest/?ar_a=1

You must be getting tired of all this globetrotting but we have one more location for you to visit. It is a amazingly beautiful formation. Let’s go see it!

Cairns, Australia

Welcome to Cairns, Australia but do not get too comfortable as we are only staying long enough to refresh ourselves before we get on our boat to explore our last wonder.

Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is full of wondrous marvels. What will you find out as you explore this area?

• What sea does the Great Barrier Reef lie in?

• How long is the reef?

• How many species of birds live on the reef?

• When did the reef attain World heritage Status?

• What makes the reef unique among world structures?

Your resources for your exploration:

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/places/parks-and-nature-places/oceans/oceans-barrier-reef/

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0101/feature2/index.html

http://geography.about.com/od/australiamaps/a/great-barrier-reef.htm

http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/

It is time to board our plane one last time and make the long flight home to Fredericton. Does anyone want to guess at how many kilometres we travelled during our Virtual Field Trip?

Fredericton, NB to Flagstaff, Arizona - Grand Canyon – 4936kmGrand Canyon to Lima, Peru - Andes Mountains – 6 476 kmLima Peru to Rio de Janeiro - 3 776 kmRio to Morelia, Mexico - Paricutin Volcano - 7 857 kmMorelia, Mexico- Paricutin Volcano- to Tunis, Tunisia – Sahara Desert - 10 483 kmTunis to Cairo, Egypt – Nile River- 2 092 kmCairo to Livingstone, Zambia - 5 331 kmLivingstone, Zambia to Kathmandu, Nepal Mount Everest, - 8 152 kmKathmandu, Nepal to Cairns, Australia, Great Barrier Reef, Australia - 8 175 kmGreat Barrier Reef, Australia to Fredericton, NB - 15 721 km

72999km total distance travelled

Welcome home! I hope you enjoyed learning about some of the natural wonders of the world. To wrap up our Virtual Field Trip we will be having a class discussion (tomorrow) on what we learned. Each student will be expected to pick a favourite wonder and give reasons to support their choice. Now unpack that suitcase, have a home-cooked meal, and enjoy sleeping in your own bed and I’ll see you all in the morning. Great job everyone!!

Field Trip record (Field Trip record.kmz)

Stop the slide show and click to open the Google Earth file

Picture credits:http://grandcanyon.ppblogs.com/files/2011/11/Grand-Canyon-National-Park-Arizona.jpghttp://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/images/andes_mountains2.jpghttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sYzVYQO26Uo/SaP2YToHEAI/AAAAAAAAABU/HSA8lAKGJo8/s1600/harbor+rio.jpghttp://www.freewebs.com/volcanoparicutin/paricutin_2.jpghttp://www.visualphotos.com/photo/1x6935832/algeria_the_sahara_desert_the_big_west_erg_aerial_view_257CYO00152.jpghttp://www.visualphotos.com/photo/2x4634859/aerial_view_of_river_nile_near_aswan_IS098T77J.jpghttp://gloriousphu.com/uploads/places/images/full/Victoria-Falls.jpghttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O4xT6CjCZ7o/TbJmXaDoJhI/AAAAAAAAAg4/M_-lwDHX_Ck/s1600/Mount-Everest-Wallpapers.jpghttp://www.world-navigator.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/great-barrier-reef-aerial-view.jpghttp://www.airport-technology.com/projects/fredericton-internat/images/1-fredericton-airport.jpghttp://www.everythingaustralia.com/resources/cache/713x356/1/items~large/Green_Island_Reef_Rocket_3.jpghttp://gge.unb.ca/Research/GEG/LandStudies/MoreInformation/Fredericton.jpg

Curricular Outcome:

4.3.1 Examine major physical features of the world