Event Game Ideas - Closest To The Pin
A few people asked recently about good activities/games to run at events. One of the most interesting and simple to set up that I've seen is the "closest to the pin" exercise.
Not really "competitive", but I've seen a small prize be awarded more often than not. The concept is that you select a known point that you can navigate to again later, sans GPS. One of the easiest ways of doing this is with a roll of kite string and a washer.
Run the kite string between two stationary objects, like trees, and then choose an arbitrary spot in between. Tie a washer to that spot in the line and use that as your known spot.
Take the coordiantes for the location any way you wish. You can decide to average the spot, take a single reading, or even use different brands of GPS to determine the coordinates.
Once you have the coordinates, carefully roll up the string. Don't move the washer!! :) You'll want that in the same spot for later.
When your guests arrive, post the coordinates you measured. Challenge everyone to mark the spot where THEIR GPS zeros out. Give out popsicle sticks or small flags that people can write their names on to mark the places where people zero out.
Everyone will have fun applying their own personal "strategy" to finding the zero spot and trying to be closest to your known spot.
Later, after everyone has had a chance to plant their flag, run your line again and show where the actual spot is.
I've seen this activity run 3 times and am always suprised at the results. We've always done it in Michigan, I would be interested to learn what others in other areas have found.
I won't tell you what you'll observe because that's the really cool part. But you'll be suprised and it's a great way to illustrate how different on GPS can be vs. another when searching for a specific known coordinate.
Some twists to throw in might be to use different colored flags for different brands of GPS. Doing this allows you to see how consistent each brand is with other units of the same brand and also to see if there is any difference between brands.
If you do this and would like to share your experience, please email mike@wunderware.com
Enjoy!
Not really "competitive", but I've seen a small prize be awarded more often than not. The concept is that you select a known point that you can navigate to again later, sans GPS. One of the easiest ways of doing this is with a roll of kite string and a washer.
Run the kite string between two stationary objects, like trees, and then choose an arbitrary spot in between. Tie a washer to that spot in the line and use that as your known spot.
Take the coordiantes for the location any way you wish. You can decide to average the spot, take a single reading, or even use different brands of GPS to determine the coordinates.
Once you have the coordinates, carefully roll up the string. Don't move the washer!! :) You'll want that in the same spot for later.
When your guests arrive, post the coordinates you measured. Challenge everyone to mark the spot where THEIR GPS zeros out. Give out popsicle sticks or small flags that people can write their names on to mark the places where people zero out.
Everyone will have fun applying their own personal "strategy" to finding the zero spot and trying to be closest to your known spot.
Later, after everyone has had a chance to plant their flag, run your line again and show where the actual spot is.
I've seen this activity run 3 times and am always suprised at the results. We've always done it in Michigan, I would be interested to learn what others in other areas have found.
I won't tell you what you'll observe because that's the really cool part. But you'll be suprised and it's a great way to illustrate how different on GPS can be vs. another when searching for a specific known coordinate.
Some twists to throw in might be to use different colored flags for different brands of GPS. Doing this allows you to see how consistent each brand is with other units of the same brand and also to see if there is any difference between brands.
If you do this and would like to share your experience, please email mike@wunderware.com
Enjoy!
posted by Mike @ 4:38 PM
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