Written by Guest Bloggers: Maya & Penelope
Miss Klipfel's class went on an unexpected expedition today! Miss Klipfel told us to get our passports and run to the airport…“We're going to PATAGONIA!” she announced excitedly. Well, we didn’t actually go to Patagonia but we got the next closest thing. Patagonia VR!!! 
Miss Klipfel put each kid in expedition partners each with their own VR headset. Then you got to choose a video from four different Patagonia locations. Once you finished the 360 video from one location you had to solve the puzzle that went with it.
There were super fun activities to go with each location! For the first stop, Staten Island, in the VR we saw a king penguin and then went to the Lighthouse at the End of the World. After we read a passage about Staten Island to learn about the conservation work happening there then filled in the sentences. For each word, there was a circled letter and all of the circled letters would make a word. On the second stop, Karukinka National Park, the activity was a puzzle to learn more about plastic pollution and how it's impacting Patagonia. When you finished the puzzle it gave you the next clue word.
The third stop, National Geographic Explorer, which is the ship Miss Klipfel lived on, we got to see the library, the observation deck, bridge and stood on the bow while in the Chilean fjords. After we had a Patagonia map and you would answer questions like, if you were to go from Ushuaia to the Pia Glaciers would you head North, South, West, or East? Right next to the answer was a symbol and that symbol had a letter and those would make up the next word. The fourth stop was the Bernal Glacier, the activity that went with this was a mystery picture. So you would have to answer math questions about how climate change is impacting glacial recession and adding to sea level rise. Every time you got the answer right you would get a part of the picture which gave us our final word.
We put all four clue words, explorer, curious, empathetic, and empowered into the Google Form to earn our cool Patagonia Explorer Badge. Check out the website Miss Klipfel made here with all the activities on it.
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| We all earned our Patagonia Explorer Badge |
We still can't believe how real the VR felt like we were really standing in Patagonia and even felt like the elephant seals were coming right towards us. Lots of us liked the waterfall in Karukinka National Park and being able to stand on the bridge with the captain and see how the ship navigates. We are so lucky we got to go to Patagonia with Miss Klipfel!
What a wonderful experience. The students were extremely engaged and knowledgeable. It was so much fun being a part of this.😍 Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI loved doing this it was so much fun! My favorite part was that we got to do VR! It was incredible! It was wayyyy better than looking at photos. -Natalia
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part of this was I got to feel like I was actually there. My favorite place we went to was Karenkinka National Park. It was also sooo cool being able to use the VR. Now I know how much trash is there!
ReplyDeleteI loved how we got to see the elephant seals running towards us and the sound over on the VR. I loved that I got to do this experience. now when I see plastic on the ground I will pick it up.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part of this was it's like you're there, and it's so much better than just looking at photos because it's not as cool. When I saw all the trash everywhere it made me feel bad for all the animals who live there. Ever since I saw all that tash I have been bringing less plastic to school, in order to keep all the animals safe.
ReplyDeleteI think it was really fun to see the different places in Patagonia! My favorite part was actually seeing Patagonia like how Miss Klipfel saw it. My favorite place we looked at was Karukinka National Park because of the elephant seals and the waterfall, but really I loved everything. I think it was a very fun idea to have the class do this!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part of the VR 360 pictures were sealing the elephant seals in Karakina National Park. I know that Miss. KLipfel was terrified, but I found them cute and I loved learning about them. It was honestly sad hearing that trash was lying around and the seals were in danger, also, I hated hearing that people were harming both the poor fur seals and elephant seals.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part about Miss Klipfel's adventure was when we got to see some 360 videos that she took in VR goggles! When I looked around in one of the videos it really showed me how there was so much plastic all around the animals. It made me realize how much people litter because that was only a little bit compared to other places!
ReplyDeleteI loved this experience, and I'm so grateful I got to use the Oculus Meta Quest 2! I can't believe I got to use it and it was so much fun for so many reasons! I loved how we used the Oculus instead of looking at a plain old picture. It was nice to see Patagonia, because I also felt I was there in real life. I also really liked the activities that had to do with it. I liked how they were all different activities and not the same one! I really loved this experience, I wish I could do this for one more time but I can't. But I'm still grateful that I got the chance to do this, this year!
ReplyDeleteThis was an amazing experience I personally loved the waterfall and you can actually drink from it! And the ship was so cool and it can drive by itself. But when they are going by a bridge It's serious. But something that made it so real on the VR is how it feels like your actually there. I can't forget the Elephant Seals that move like a worm that was so funny. They even almost attacked the Camera. So I love Patagonia so much I wish I could go!
ReplyDeleteI think that is was so cool you use the vr headsets! There was so much to see and hear! There was amazing things to look at everywhere and you would get a explorer badge at the end! By far Miss Klipfel is the best teacher I have ever had in my life Preschool, kindergarten, first, second, third grade Miss Klipfel is the best! There is a store that you can get things on from the money we get for being kind, working hard or just being a good citizen or student from Howe-Manning! I probably have had the most fun that I have ever had in a school year before
ReplyDeleteThe most funniest thing we got to do on the VR headset was seeing the cutest elephant seals and getting explorer badges. I also learned that the waterfall in Karukinka National Park was so fresh that you could drink it straight up. The next thing that made it so cool and fun was feeling like you were in Patagonia.
ReplyDeleteI loved VR here is why. Karakinka natural park was my favorite because the trees were super tall and the elephant seals were so cute and funny. Bernal Glacier was my second favorite because the glacier was so beautiful because it was huge and so clear but it was also very sad because of climate change there had pools of water at the bottom and the glacier was receding very fast! My third favorite place in Patagonia was the National Geographic Explorer because Miss Klipfel guided us through all of the parts including the ships bridge, the library which was kind of strange because it had some Elmo books in it!
ReplyDeleteThe VR was very cool because Miss Klipfel took really good videos
ReplyDeleteof waterfalls, beaches and glaciers.
my favorite part about this day is we got to use VR'S in SCHOOL and our teacher got to go to Patagonia to show us what it is like. I learned that the ship is bigger than you think, so this is such a great experience with ms. klipfel ps ms klipfel are the best!.
ReplyDeleteThe VR was way cooler than the pictures. It really did feel like you were there. The videos were like someone brought you on the expedition telling you all about the places that you are at and the animals that were at the place.
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