Adventure Labs

Looking for ways to engage students in place-based learning? Adventure Labs are interactive, location-based experiences similar to scavenger hunts, accessed through the Geocaching Adventure Lab mobile app. Unlike traditional geocaches, they don't involve finding physical containers but instead guide users through a series of virtual waypoints where they answer questions or solve puzzles to learn about a location's history, nature, or culture. The app uses geofencing to confirm you are at the location, and completing the series of stages earns a "find" for the Adventure.  

If you do not live in one of the communities where there is already an Adventure Lab established or if you are working with a group of people who are not physically able to take a walk, then use the exhibit format to take a virtual walk. Open the Adventure lab exhibit on a large screen or TV. Read each caption and then open the historic image full-size. Then enlarge the Google map and see how the same spot looks today. Ask participants about the changes or similarities they see. Which version of the image do they like best? Do they have memories to share about the places shown in the tour?

The Montana History Portal has created walking tour Adventure Labs for Lewistown, Butte, Great Falls, Kalispell, Virginia City, the University of Montana Campus, and the Montana State Capitol. There  is also an Adventure Lab for Native American Art at Montana State University. You’ll have to download the Adventure Lab app to see if there are others in your area. 

You might also consider having your class create an Adventure Lab in your local area. Two 14-year-old Girl Scouts recently partnered with the Montana Historical Society to create an Adventure Lab on the history of the Lewis and Clark County Hospital/Poor Farm in Helena. They loved the experience and recommended it as a way to connect young people with history in their community. To discuss creating Adventure Labs with your class, contact MTHS Interpretive Historian Melissa Hibbard.