Scott Stoll logo world traveler. A bicycle wheel and the globe symbolizes Scott's journey around the world on a bicycle.
A snail with reddish-orange stripes on the wet pavement.
A beautiful Pacific Sideband Snail that I found crossing the street in Califonia's Redwoods Forest. I didn't know the name when I found it, but I looked it up later.

Photo Safari

Find something you’ve never seen before

Our Backyard Adventures are fun and easy mini-expeditions that you can do — you guessed it! — right in your own backyard. These activities are designed to help students and parents explore the world with eyes of wonder. Along the way, you might discover new areas of interest, new dreams and potential new careers.

Your adventure should you choose to accept it is…

Introduction: First in our series of Backyard Adventures is the Photo Safari. “Safari” is one of my favorite words. It means “adventure” or “journey” in Swahili. And while I was riding my bicycle through East Africa, people would often wish me, “Habari Safari,” meaning, “Have a good adventure.”

ASSIGNMENT: Your adventure, should you choose to accept it, is to find something you’ve never seen before. You may need to think like you’ve never thought before. Search where you’ve never searched before. Take a photo of your unidentified object. But remember: you can’t leave your own yard. That’s what makes this fun because it will prove there is a whole world waiting for you not very far away.

Example: What do you think is pictured above? I’ll give you a hint. While riding my bicycle down the Pacific Coast, I found it slithering across the road in Humboldt Redwoods State Park in Northern California. I was camping at the time, so the snail was in my backyard. I didn’t know what kind of snail it was, but I used the internet to discover more. I typed in “Califonia, redwoods, snail, stripes.” Then I looked at all the pictures until I saw one that matched.

After you find your mystery object, use the internet, type in some keywords, and see if you can find a matching image and its name. Start by typing in your location, what you think the object is and the colors.

If you enjoyed this story… 

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. If you are feeling generous, donations help keep me caffeinated. Even $1 helps.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More stories like this

icon play it.png

Take a step of action to help make dreams come true.

Subscribe to our newsletter and get occasional updates on adventures, worksheets and more.