Culture Clues Backyard Naturalist Be an Explorer Every Day! Creative Climates Letterboxing: A Geographic Scavenger Hunt Preserving Biodiversity Activity Index

<< Everyday Explorers demonstrate hands-on exploration. Photos courtesy of Peter Thron, National Geographic Channel

These visual clues can tell us a lot about the local culture. For example, take a look at this picture. What does this architectural style reveal to you about the culture of the area? What about this street sign?

In order to determine the cultural make-up of your community, the first thing to do is select one aspect of your community to document. Some examples include people, businesses, architecture, houses of worship, or street names. Once you have decided what (or whom) you will be photographing, partner with a buddy and get the permission and/or accompaniment of a parent, guardian, or teacher to go exploring in your community. Spend a few days visiting various parts of your community and taking photographs (be sure to ask permission from people before photographing them). Be sure that you cover a good cross-section of your community so that you get an accurate picture of its cultural make-up. For example, don't just photograph churches in one neighborhood; that could skew your results toward one religious group when in fact your town might support several religious communities.

Once you have developed your photos, try to classify them into different groups. For example, if you photographed street signs, group them according to name origin. What do your photos tell you about your community? Do you have many groups, or just a few? Do your photos represent different ethnic groups? Different religious groups? Different age groups? Create a scrapbook of your photos with different sections devoted to each culture you have identified. Consider adding "artifacts," such as menus or church bulletins, to your book. Be sure to provide a descriptive caption for each photo, stating where the photo was taken and what it represents about your community's culture.

Think of a cultural group in your town you'd like to learn more about. Write down a list of what interests you about this culture, and any specific questions you'd like answered. Have your parents help you research the answers to your questions on the Internet.

Older Xpeditioners: Create a Web page that showcases your community's cultural diversity. Use a digital camera to take pictures of several aspects of the community (people, businesses, street signs, etc.) and add them to your site. Be sure to include a summary of your community's cultural make-up and add a caption for each picture.

Print a blank world map from our Xpeditions Atlas and color in all the countries whose cultures are represented in your town.

Parents: Model for your children the value of exploring your local community. Discuss with them the importance of biodiversity. Spend some time outdoors together observing wildlife. Keep a family field notebook in which you record your family's animal and plant observations during weekly or monthly nature walks.

Explain to your children that there are many small things we can do to enhance and protect the natural world. Encourage your children to practice "backyard conservation" and help them with activities such as planting vegetation, cleaning up green spaces, or simply setting up a bird feeder in the back yard.