CMLE is here for you with all kinds of resources and information. Each week we will share a look at another piece of that information, to help draw some attention to resources that may help you as you serve your community.
This week we look at our geocaching resources!
We are always looking for strategies to share library ideas with people – and setting travel bugs loose in the world is one of our unique attempts.
Have you tried geocaching? It’s fun!
And what is it? “Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices. Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache (container) hidden at that location.”
What are travel bugs? “A Trackable is a sort of physical geocaching “game piece.” You will often find them in geocaches or see them at geocaching gatherings. Each Trackable is etched with a unique code that can be used to log its movements on Geocaching.com as it travels in the real world. Some of these items have traveled hundreds of thousands of miles thanks to geocachers who move them from cache to cache!
There are three main types of Trackables: Travel Bug® Trackables, Geocoins and other Trackables.
A Travel Bug is a trackable tag attached to an item that geocachers call a “hitchhiker.” Each Travel Bug has a goal set by its owner. Goals are typically travel-related, such as to visit every country in Europe or travel from coast to coast. Travel Bug Trackables move from cache to cache with the help of geocachers like you. See the “What do I do when I find a Trackable?” section of the guide for information on how you can help Trackables move.”
CMLE has set loose five trackables into the world. Some disappeared, some are still out there – but we like them all and look forward to hearing about their progress! We get emails as they are found, and it is always fun to see how they are moving.
If you want to track the CMLE travel bugs:
We are with you! Travel bugs can be pretty exciting. We are looking forward to checking in on their progress, to see how many libraries they visit! You can follow the links below, or just click on the travel bug on the geocaching.com site to get a quick email each time it moves around.