News

Sydney Kids X Marks the spot

July 25, 2019

On 9th and 10th July 2019, primary school aged children came together to participate in X Marks the Spot. The program formed part of Sydney Kids, a group mobility program run in our Western and Eastern Sydney regions during school holidays.

The program was designed to introduce and develop children’s understanding of maps, which are a useful tool to understand and/or remember layouts of new environments. The first day of program was full of fun games to introduce children to mapping concepts.

Children learnt how to create their own tactile or audio maps, and use information from visual, tactile and/or audio maps to uncover hidden treasure in indoor and outdoor environments. Children worked in teams to locate QR codes, and used iPhone apps to unlock QR code directions and clues to find their lunch location.

Children attending the Eastern Sydney program had a surprise visit from Ollie (Ambassador Dog), which was a great end to the day. The mapping skills learnt on the first day were put into practise on the second day, as children used maps and iPhone apps to find their way to a fun activity. Children trialled different iPhone apps to follow directions to locations (i.e. Moovit app) and used travel apps (i.e. TripView and NextThere) to hear timetable information for bus and train travel. In Western Sydney, children enjoyed the WOW Festival and attended a comedy show, interactive karaoke, clay making and design, and an interactive art sound and light show. In Eastern Sydney, children followed an audio map to reveal the location of their activity – a chocolate workshop with Sydney Chocolate School. Children thoroughly enjoyed making different chocolate treats including chocolate bars, freckles and lollipops.