6 Virtual Fieldtrips

Wait a minute! Virtual fieldtrips in children’s ministry?

Why not? Technology is opening up more and more opportunities all the time. Let’s make use of these opportunities in a good way. Let’s put some time and effort into doing something different in club. This summer is a great time to work on getting a virtual fieldtrip lined up for the 2015-2016 club year.

 Here are some suggestions. If you have any additional ideas, let us know!

 Get ready to take a trip …

1. To another country through GO. Our Awana GO website has videos from several different countries. Show one of the videos to your clubbers and talk about Awana in that country. The site also provides Large Group lessons that go along with the videos (to make discussing the videos even easier). Kids need to know that people around the world know, love and serve Christ.

2. To another club in our own country. Skype, Facetime and similar software enables us to be visually connected with people far away. Why not partner up with a club in another state? (Find one that meets at the same time and is in the same time zone.) Occasionally connect during club. One club could demonstrate a new game to another club. Or kids could introduce themselves to the kids at the other club. Is one of the clubs having a special/unique Large Group lesson? Can the other club watch and listen in? Again, be creative. How could you make something like this super fun (and a great learning experience) for your kids?

3. To the home or workplace of someone who is an expert in a particular subject. You want to talk to the kids about the characteristics of sheep or camels or some other subject that is talked about in God’s Word. Can you visit a sheep rancher via Skype? Or FaceTime a local zookeeper? See what you can work out. Or maybe you could Skype a Christian archaeologist while she’s on her dig. The possibilities are endless.

4. To the office of a missionary or pastor. Do you have a kid-friendly pastor or a kid-friendly missionary whom your church supports? Why not have him/her walk around with his phone, videotaping what he does during the day? Kids might be surprised to know the pastor actually has a family (and a dog) or that he does a lot more than preach. They might be surprised that the missionary actually lives in a house and enjoys eating the local delicacies … and works at an Awana club across the ocean.

5. To the church/home/office of a KidMin speaker. You sat in the Large Group Lesson workshop at the last AMC. The man who spoke talked about stepping into the life of a Bible character and showed you how he researched customs, wore the clothes and then dramatically related Bible events. You’re studying Moses and would like to have him talk to your group, but he lives across the state. Can you do it by way of live video? Or, your cousin lives in Missouri and has a great way of relating to kids. You often joked with him that he needs to make the trip to speak to your club … but why not? You still can do it.

6. To anywhere on earth. I’ve talked before how important it is to show kids that Bible locations are real. Of course, some of them are ruins or buried because of the passage of time. We don’t know the exact locations of other Bible events. However, many landmarks are easily looked up on Google Earth: the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River, the synagogue at Capernaum (ruins, but there), etc. Yes, kids will look at drawings, but how much better to visually “take” them to the place you’re talking about in your lesson?

Have fun! Let us know what you do.