Where in the World Are We?

I’m making one last ditch effort to engage my tween on our road trip back to Seattle. This time I pull out International Landmarks by educatedKid, a large deck of cards with photographs of 40 famous landmarks on one side and interesting facts and statistics about the landmarks on the reverse side. For example, who knew that the Sydney Opera House has the largest mechanical organ with 10,500 pipes? Or that the official paint of The Golden Gate Bridge is known as “international orange?”

The World Wonders on these cards cover 6 continents, 18 countries and 30 cities. A challenging activity for any of us would be to identify what we think the 40 landmarks are before even looking at the cards. Go ahead. I’ll give you two minutes to write down 40 world renowned landmarks. Ready? On your mark, get set, GO!

No fair peeking at the list at the end of this blog until you’re done.

Although the photography could be more appealing, the cards provide a fun way for both kids and adults to learn about the sites. The deck comes with a brief list of cross-cultural activities to expand upon the images and inspire further discoveries. I had intended to provide a link for the cards but alas! They’re no longer in print. However, I did discover an alternative: Rand McNally Schoolhouse World Facts & Landmarks Flashcards and Games. And this deck includes 44 world landmarks. Okay, you know what’s coming. Go ahead. I’ll give you another 30 seconds to come up with 4 more landmarks to add to your list. You did make a list, didn’t you?

You may wonder how successful I was in using any of these card decks to stimulate conversation with my tween on our road trip. Sigh. Not much, I’m afraid. But I like to think I planted a few seeds for thought and later discussion. And I learned something, too. That sometimes the best times together come from simply breaking out of our everyday routines and enjoying the drive in silence.

FYI ~ Here’s the list of International Landmarks through the eyes of educatedkids:

Arc de Triomphe                                           Pyramid of Kukulkan
Big Ben & Westminster Palace                  Sagrada Familia
Brandenburg Gate                                         St. Basil’s Cathedral
Catedral Metropolitano                              Sphinx
Colosseum                                                        Statue of Liberty
Eiffel Tower                                                      Stonehenge
Forbidden City                                               Supreme Court
Golden Gate Bridge                                       Sydney Opera House
Gondolas of Venice                                      Taj Mahal
Great Pyramid                                                Temple of Luxor
Great Wall                                                         Temple of Ramses II
Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests            Terra Cotta Army
Little Mermaid                                                Torii of Itsukushima
Moai of Rapa Nui                                            Tower Bridge
Mont-St-Michel                                              Tower of Pisa
Neuschwanstein                                             U.S. Capitol
Notre Dame                                                      Washington Monument
Parthenon                                                         White House
Pentagon                                                           Windmills of Holland
Phra Si Rattana Chedi                                  World Trade Center (references 9/11)

How many of these landmarks made your list? How many have you seen, Wanderboomers?

Leave a comment here to let me know how you did and to share your favorite sites.