Virtual Expeditions & Explorations

VIRTUAL EXPEDITIONS/EXPLORATIONS

Extended FOR GOOD!


All participants will now be able to submit Virtual Expeditions/Explorations with modified guidelines if they choose to do so over an in-person excursion. Please note that a participant cannot mix and match the in-person and virtual Expeditions, they must choose one or the other.

Instructions:

Step 1 – Choose your location(s)

Participants can choose a country/location they are interested in virtually visiting and exploring. If preferred, multiple locations may be chosen, but participants will be expected to include a paragraph comparing and contrasting the locations in their write-up.

Step 2 – Choose your activity/activities and address the prompt tied to each activity

Participants will then (a) pick activities from the activity guide below to explore the history, culture, and customs of the location(s) they have chosen and (b) address the prompt tied to each activity (italicized in each activity description). Participants may choose to do the same activity more than once, but more detail and depth will be expected in their activity guide answers to clearly demonstrate that they have learned something new with each activity.

Step 3 – Complete the Write-Up by answering the 7 questions

Answer the seven questions about their virtual Expedition/Exploration as whole in the Write-Up Guidelines below. Once participants are ready to submit, they should be sure that their write-up includes  both: (a) an answer addressing the italicized portion in the Activity Guide for each activity, and (b) one thoughtful answer for each of the seven questions from the Write-Up Guidelines about the Virtual Expedition/Exploration as a whole. Once submitted on Submittable, please be sure to submitted a Validation form from your Validator. If you are having difficulty finding an appropriate Validator, you may send your forms to your Advisor to sign off on their behalf.

Note: Excessive images and extra spaces in the formatting of the write-up to meet the page-count requirement will result in a revision. Images and other additions are welcome, but thoughtful and in-depth answers to each question are the key to receiving an approval! The page requirement is also a minimum, so feel free to add a little extra!

In addition, you cannot reuse any activities from a previous submission! If you completed 3 activities for a Gold Certificate, you cannot add 1 more to earn the Bronze Medal, you would need to submit 4 brand new activities. You are able to use the same location, but you cannot reuse the same activities. 

Submission Requirements

Bronze Certificate: 1 activity with a 1-page write-up
Silver Certificate: 2 activities with a 2-page write-up
Gold Certificate: 3 activities with a 3-page write-up
Bronze Medal: 4 activities with a 5-6-page write-up
Silver Medal: 5 activities with a 7-8-page write-up
Gold Medal: 6 activities with a 9-10-page write-up


 

Activity Guide

Choose the number of activities pertaining to the Award level you are applying for. Read the brief description, and answer the italicized prompt below. These are separate from the write-up guidelines, as those questions are for your whole Virtual Expedition.

Virtual Museum Tours: Participate in a virtual tour of the museum of your choice.

  • Discuss the history of some of your favorite pieces and how each influenced the history and culture of your chosen country.

National Park Tours: Embark on a virtual tour of a national park and explore related topics (i.e. geology of the park, local flora/fauna, history, etc.) of your choice.

  • Discuss the geological make-up of the park, the wildlife, and how the park has changed over the years.

National/International Landmark Tours: Virtually visit a famous or important landmark.

  • Discuss its history as well as some facts that you learned from the tour.

Literary Art Review: Watch your favorite international film or read one of the classic books from your country of choice. If you cannot find either a film or book, newspapers, articles, journals, and poetry are also acceptable.

  • Provide a detailed write-up discussing the impact the film/book/scholarly work had on the country and how that literary work shaped thoughts and society during that time.

Documentary Review: Watch and review a documentary on a particular location. The documentary can be historical, a wildlife documentary, etc.

  • Prepare a write-up discussing the movie, including your takeaway thoughts.

Interview a Local: Take time to interview someone who lives in the country or works at the museum/landmark you are writing a report on.

  • Your write-up should include details of the interview, such as an edited script, and what you learned from the discussion.

A Taste of the World: Prepare a favorite/new food that represents the location you are researching.

  • Provide a detailed write-up on your preparation, ingredient list, as well as the origins of the food or drink, if applicable. Many traditional foods have stories so be sure to include this in your write-up.

Architectural Review: Research and study buildings or structures from your chosen location.

  • Provide a detailed write-up on the influences, impacts, and history of the architecture. You may also compare and contrast architecture from different periods of time within your chosen location, or compare more than one location.

Transportation System Tours: Research the history of a transportation system (metro, bus, train, etc.) in your chosen region.

  • Create an itinerary for a day-long virtual tour around an area using any available schedules. Discuss what you learned and provide some pros/cons of the transportation system you chose.

Moving Plan: Research a few major aspects of what you would need move to and live in the region you chose.

  • Create a brief plan for what you might need to move to your chosen region including how much the cost of living is compared to your hometown and what cultural norms/practices might be different there.

Cultural Pastime Review: Research and learn about a cultural pastime (performance art, sport, entertainment, etc.) that is special to the region you chose.

  • Provide a detailed write-up on the history of the pastime, why it interests you, and the impact it has had on the region(s) that practice/play it.

Write-Up Guidelines

After you complete your activity(s), please review the write-up questions below and answer them regarding your entire Virtual Expedition experience. Do not answer the 7 questions for each individual activity

1) What interests you about the topic you chose to learn about? Do you have a personal connection to the place or culture that you studied? Was this somewhere that you were planning to travel in person before you had to change your plans and stay home, or somewhere that you might never have thought to go on your own?

2) Why did you choose the specific activities? If you chose to consume media (art, literature, film, etc.) what drew you to the form that you chose? If you chose something hands-on, was this a skill you already possessed, or were you starting from scratch?

3) Did you have a specific plan about how you were going to complete your activities? Please discuss the steps you took to complete your required activities. How did you do your research? Did you search the internet for films to watch, or call someone who might be able to share recipes? Please be detailed about your journey from the planning stages to the finished product.

4) Did your activities raise any new questions for you about your topic? If you were going to start your project over, what would you do differently? Did you miss any important details in your original plan? If someone wanted to follow your plan, would they be fully immersed in your topic?

5) If you were traveling to learn about your topic in person, how would your experience have been different? How would being in a museum to learn about your topic have been different than learning it at home? Would you have faced a significant language barrier? Did you learn more about a part of the world that is either hazardous or logistically difficult to reach? How would travelling in person have changed what kind of immersion you were willing to take on?

6) Did your activities open a topic you would like to explore more in the future? Do you feel motivated to engage with this topic in person in the future? How did your activities challenge any ideas you might have had coming into your topic? If you are not motivated to explore this topic more in the future, why is that?

7) What interesting facts did you learn about the history and culture of the location/destination you researched?

Use the template below for your Virtual Expedition/Exploration write-up. Please make sure your Virtual Expedition is formatted to be easy to read and understand. Having sections is recommended. 

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