Manual Main Page | Young Adult

Program 1: Your Dream Destination

Time of program

50 minutes

Program Description

Most teens dream about visiting far away places. They are often eager to get away from their parents and siblings, especially during the long summer months. This program offers teens practical world travel experience.

Preparation

Invite a local travel agent, a high school teacher or professor who travels with students abroad, or an experienced traveler to speak to the teens and bring a variety of catalogs or items acquired while traveling to show or display. Request that the presentation include information such as travel tips, how to be a smart traveler, and travel preparation. For example, a travel tip might be to research the country and its customs before visiting. Schedule a date and time and invite the presenter at least two to three months in advance. Ask the presenter to bring travel photos, maps, mementos, brochures, etc., or suggest a slide show, or PowerPoint presentation.

• Create web and book bibliographies for distribution to teens.
• Create "Plan Your Ultimate Vacation" activity sheets. A sample activity sheet is included with this chapter.
• Create "Your Dream Destination" raffle tickets. Examples are included in this chapter.
• Request catalogs from travel agencies and online sites about six months in advance to ensure timely arrival.

Decorations

Cover bulletin board or display area with a large colorful map of the world. Reproduce the "Your Dream Destination?" raffle ticket" below.

Promote attendance in the week before the program by telling teens who come to your library about the program and asking them to fill out the raffle tickets. Display the completed raffle tickets on the bulletin board for others to read. Place a pushpin on the world map representing the teens' desired travel destinations. Borrow posters from a travel agency, map store, or adventure store and hang them near the map display. Inform teens that a name will be drawn for a raffle at the end of the program and that they must be present to win.

Additional Activity

In the second part of the program, teens will participate in a friendly competition by filling out the "Plan Your Ultimate Vacation" activity sheet at the end of this program, and using the Internet resources listed included in this program. Give a small prize to the first one to finish and find the cost for their trip.

Books to Display

There are an abundance of travel guides and the names of the most popular series are listed below. Each has numerous guidebooks for popular destinations. Pick the ones in which teens in your community will be the most interested in and include them in your bibliography and display them at your program.

• Let's Go - Good for young people on low budgets.
• Lonely Planet - Good for the adventurers.
• Fodor's - Good for the essentials.
• Insight - Focuses on giving insights into people, places and history.
• Rick Steves' Guides- Presents the big pictures and the small details.

Books to Booktalk

• Remember Me to Harold Square by Paula Danziger.
• Rules of the Road by Joan Bauer.
• Thames Doesn't Rhyme with James by Paula Danziger.

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Magazines

Travel America.

World Publishing Company, 990 Grove St., Evanston, IL 60201-4370.

www.travelamerica.com/

Traveling in the U.S.? Then read Travel America, a down to earth magazine about favorite vacation spots in the U.S. It includes resorts, ranches, theme parks, regional events, national parks, cities and counties.

Travel and Leisure.

American Express Publishing Company, 1120 Avenue of Americas. NY, NY 10036.

www.travelandleisure.com/

If you want to travel, this is the magazine for you. Great restaurants, great resorts, great vacations! International in scope, and check out the web site too!

Musical Recordings

• The Best of World Music: World Dance Party.
• Onda Sonora: Red Hot and Lisbon by Bar None.
• Putumayo Presents Latino! Latino!.

Videos

• Rick Steves' Travel the World Series. (53 minutes)
• Super Cities Series. (30 minutes)

Web Sites

BestFares

www.bestfares.com/

Best Fares offers some great deals and extras like "Scam Watch" and "Snooze You Lose Fares."

Hostels.com

www.hostels.com/

This resource for hosteling and budget travel is very complete. There is a worldwide hostel database, information under "Hosteling 101" and "Budget Travel," timely articles, bad poetry from the road, and much more.

The International Home Exchange Network

www.homexchange.com/

This money-saving site is devoted to the listing of home exchanges and private rentals. Find up-to-date and extensive profiles and illustrations of available rentals.

Internet Cafes

www.netcafes.com/

If you are planning on being away for awhile, this site will be useful to you if you want to stay in touch. It currently covers over 100 countries and is searchable by country or city. It's easy to use and you'll be amazed at locales in which you can get connected.

Lonely Planet

www.lonelyplanet.com/

Like the guidebooks, this site offers travel enthusiasts insightful, detailed travel information "designed to kickstart your travels and help you on your way." In the "Destinations" section, search by region, country, city, or by hyperlinked map. The "Travelers' Health Check" includes information on pre-departure preparations, diseases and ailments, and women's health.

Olsen & Associates Currency Converter

www.oanda.com/converter/classic

Determine the most current exchange rate for over 164 currencies. An added feature is the ability to search for historical exchange rates going back to 1990.

The Travel Channel

travel.discovery.com/

Search for active, outdoor, and family vacations. Visit their stunning gallery of images plus the "360 Photo Gallery" of the U.S. National Parks.

Table of Contents | Program Two

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