social studies

Do you have the travel bug? Are you yearning to see new sights and explore this amazing world? Feed your curiosity by planning your own trip! You may want to plan a realistic vacation that your parents could afford. Or, you could create a dream vacation and experience it online. Either way, traveling the Internet is an awesome way to catch glimpses of life around the world.

If you’re stumped about where to “go” on your trip, cruise through these sites for ideas:

Curious Kids

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Follow these kids as they travel around the world.

Kids Avenue

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Read about things other kids do and see while on vacation. Publish your favorite vacation story.

LJ Travel Bear

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Read about this teddy bear’s travels around the U.S. and England.

Postcards From America

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See all 50 states and capitals as you follow this couple across America.

Wayback: Summer Vacation

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Take a look at cool vacation spots across the U.S. Send a postcard from your trip online.

Virtual Field Trips:

A Hotlist of Virtual Field Trips
Oops Virtual Field Trips

Once you have your location, plan for a successful trip by investigating the following:

• Travel - How will you get to your destination? By car, plane, boat, train? Once you are there, will you travel around within the city/country? What are the costs?
• Accommodations – Where will you stay? Will you spend the money on hotels, rent condos or cottages, or try to save by camping?
• Activities – What will you do while you are there? Choices could include historical places, museums, recreational activities, local festivals, etc. What are the costs?
• Weather – What is the climate like at your destination? What types of clothing do you need to pack?
• Time – Is your destination in a different time zone? How will this difference affect your traveling?
• Budget - How much money do you have to spend on your trip? Can you afford to do all that you have planned? What are the things you simply can't miss?

For travel outside of the U.S., you may need to consider:

• Passports, visas, etc.
• Money Exchange and units of currency
• Language differences

After your journey, here are two ways you can remember your adventures:

1. Write a journal as if you were actually on this trip. Include descriptions of what you see and what you do. You can make your own travel journals:
   1. Let's Make a Journal
   2. Joann Fabric
   3. Make an Authentic Lewis & Clark Journal
2. Publish your travel writing:
   1. Online Ideas:
      1. Kids on the Net
      2. Kids Space
      3. Kid Pub
      4. Young Writers in Print
   2. Offline Ideas:
      1. Draw postcards or design some on the computer. You could also send online postcards to friends and family:
         1. Kids Avenue
         2. WayBack: Summer Vacation
         3. Postcards from Buster
      2. Design a brochure that would encourage others to visit your destination. Use this site to find more suggestions: State Travel Brochure Ideas
      3. Create a scrapbook about your journey. Send away for free brochures and travel guides to get pictures for your creation. Here are a couple of websites you can use to find more scrapbook ideas:
         1. Travel Information
         2. 24-7 Vacations

Trip Planning Resources:

U.S. Travel

GORP’s Family Vacation Saver
Recreation.gov
Family Travel Guide
Family Fun: Vacation Finder and Travel Checklists
The Family Travel Files
Fodor’s - Travel Arrangements
Mapquest - Maps and directions
CyberSleuth - Geography
Wunderground - Weather

World Travel

CIA World Fact Book
Geographia - Geography
Factmonster - Atlas
How Far Is It?
Digital Passport – Time Zones, currencies, etc.
CDC – Health Information
Living Language – Learn a few phrases in French, German, Italian, or Spanish
World Time Server – Tells you the time of anywhere in the world!

Photography Tips:

Action and Adventure Photography Tips from National Geographic