Ellington

• Ongoing: until Wednesday, December 30, 2009
• Sunday: 1:00pm
• Monday: 8:00am
• Tuesday: 8:00am
• Wednesday: 8:00am
• Thursday: 8:00am
• Friday: 8:00am
• Saturday: 8:00am
• Where: The Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources, Smackover
• Cost: Not available
• Age limit: All ages

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A traveling exhibit is putting Smackover on the map. GPS Adventures Arkansas, which will be at the Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources until December 30, introduces visitors to GPS (Global Positioning System) technology while also serving as a cache for geocachers. GPS is a navigation system that can pinpoint a location anywhere on earth. Geocaching is a global game played by adventure seekers equipped with GPS units. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called caches, and then share about the experience, usually online via sites such as geocaching.com. "With the ParkCache program and its popularity, I thought that it was going to be great to have an exhibit devoted to geocaching," said Pam Beasley, Superintendent of the museum. "There is a 2,500 square foot exhibit that has traveled to large museums in the country, and I started talking to them about doing a smaller exhibit. After much bantering we worked out the details to have a smaller version of the large exhibit and focus on the Arkansas State Park program." Caches have been hidden in all 52 state parks as part of the ParkCache program. There are only a few states in the nation that allow a cache in every single park. The caches contain clues to find a final 53rd cache hidden somewhere in the state containing a geocoin that geocachers can keep to commemorate their Arkansas adventures. GPS was initially intended for military purposes but in the 1980's, the government made it available to everyone. It is made up of 24 or more satellites that circle the earth twice a day. The Smackover exhibit is a regional version of the nationally touring GPS Adventure Maze Exhibit. Via the exhibit, visitors learn about GPS through interactive science experiences in a 1,500 square foot indoor maze and an outdoor GPS training course. The maze takes visitors through three main rooms where they learn about the historical and current uses of the system. Participants in the outdoor course can locate nearby caches. "The exhibit has had tremendous response," said Beasley. "In the first 15 days of the opening we had 1,300 visitors (to the museum) compared to 367 in the same period last year." So what makes the sport so popular? "People get into the hunting and finding part of it," said Joe Jacobs, who works as manager of Marketing and Revenue for Arkansas State Parks and helped create ParkCache. "Geocaching takes you to places that you have never been before and is a way of experiencing an area that is unique." The idea for ParkCache was sparked after a geocaching excursion by Jacobs at Pinnacle Mountain State Park. The park was part of Cache Across America, a geocaching series in which one cache had been placed in each U.S. state. "I thought it would be cool if we could start something like this here," he said. Jacobs modeled the current program after the series and launched it during the 75th Anniversary of the state park system last year. Both the program and the exhibit have helped spread the word about GPS and geocaching. "I think there are several reasons people are attracted to geocaching," said Beasley. "It's an activity that the entire family can participate in. This builds strong family bonds. Another reason is the thrill of the hunt. Even though what is found in the cache is often mere trinkets, the reward is completing a challenge placed by someone else. It's a primeval instinct to hunt and conquer." GPS Adventure Arkansas is scheduled to travel to seven museums across the state over the next few years. Each museum in the Arkansas Discovery Network developed an exhibit that will rotate through 2012. The exhibit is sponsored by the Arkansas Discovery Network, funded by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation and is developed by Groundspeak and Minotaur Mazes with development support from the National Executive Committee of Space-Based Positioning Navigation & Timing and technological contributions from Magellan and Spatial Solutions. The Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources is one of 52 Arkansas State Parks and is located at 3853 Smackover Highway. Museum hours are from 8-5 Monday Saturday and from 1-5 on Sundays. More information about the museum can be found at www.amnr.org/ or by calling 870-725-2877. More information about the Arkansas Discovery Network can be found at www.arkansasdiscoverynetwork.org/. More information about the park cache program can be found at http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/things-to-do/geocaching/. Submitted by the Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism One Capitol Mall, Little Rock, AR 72201, 501-682-7606 E-mail: info@arkansas.com

This event was posted July 27, 2009 and last updated July 27, 2009