One of our first completed caches
A few weeks ago, we went out with a GPS device (Global Positioning System) and a few magnetic key boxes, hiding them around the city. This marked the start of our participation in a little sport/hobby called geocaching.
What is geocaching? According to Wikipedia:
Geocaching is an outdoor activity in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers (called “geocaches” or “caches”) anywhere in the world. A typical cache is a small waterproof container (usually a tupperware or ammo box) containing a logbook. Larger containers can also contain items for trading, usually toys or trinkets of little value. Geocaching is most often described as a “game of high-tech hide and seek”, sharing many aspects with orienteering, treasure-hunting, and waymarking.
Geocaches are currently placed in over 100 countries around the world and on all seven continents, including Antarctica. As of February 8, 2010, there are over 984,900 active geocaches over the world.
Museums have been involved with the geocaching movement for awhile. Popular museum blog Museums 2.0 had a great post on geocaching a year-and-a-half ago. In fact, thanks to the recent introduction GPS-enabled cell phones, this activity is suddenly becoming much more approachable for the general public and geocaching, as well as other location-based activities, are likely to explode in popularity.
A quick search suggests that most Canadian museums have caches hidden close by, whether they know it or not; some, like the nearby Port Moody Station Museum have even been gracious enough to permit them on their property.
These three caches were placed in late January
So what about the caches we hid? (Pictures are on the right; click on the image for a closer look.)
Each our caches has been placed near a historical location in the city, and each includes information about the location. Our first three spots? A strip club with a racy history, a Chinatown alley that was once a bustling center of vice and a location with a creepy past–our own building. A list of our caches is available on the Geocaching website, but you won’t get to see the coordinates unless you sign up to become a geocacher yourself. Already, in just a few weeks, our three caches have been found almost 100 times!
We chose to use magnetic key boxes because they’re easiest to hide in an urban environment, although they have two important drawbacks: they’re not waterproof, and they don’t leave much room for those who find them to leave items for trade. We’ll be re-evaluating our cache containers for the next round of hides.
The initial contents of our first caches
As with any group, we didn’t want to get involved in something without understanding the expectations of the community; Anthony Floyd (Aerodoq on geocaching.com) has provided invaluable assistance in helping us learn what’s good practice and how to be an active participant in that community. We’re also glad we found the BC Geocaching Association.
One of the most important lessons was that commercial messages are strictly not allowed. It might be tempting to explicitly market our museum through our (or others’) geocaches, but this always instead works against you. Our caches only make a brief mention of the museum, just to point out that we placed it. Instead, we see them more as an educational tool: those who already geocache get introduced to places and pieces of history in a way they enjoy, and (hopefully) those who are interested in history will learn about this project and develop their own interest in geocaching. (It really is a fun activity!)
Each of our caches contains history info about its location
Mostly, we’re just excited for the possibilities that our involvement can contribute in a significant way to building a real sense of place. Just in a few weeks of searching for geocaches ourselves, we’ve already discovered gorgeous vistas, hidden treasures and special little places we would have never found without a little encouragement. Hopefully, the caches we’re placing will help encourage people to feel a deeper connection with the past lives of the places they frequent, but rarely think about.
We look forward to “losing” our keys (or much bigger things) soon.
Want to start geocaching, yourself? Visit the Geocaching website to sign up for a free account. Also, if you live in British Columbia, be sure to check out the BC Geocaching Association; they do great work spreading the word about learning opportunities, special events and more. Their memberships are also free.
Tags: Chinatown · geocaching · geotagging · historical crime · history1 Comment
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Welcome to the sport of Geocaching, and thanks for hiding some new caches close to interesting locations!