Build Your Dream Travel Box

Though the world is now a familiar place for geographers, that doesn't mean the world is familiar to you! Imagine you could go anywhere in the world. Would you want to be someplace warm, or do you love snow? Do you dream of the ocean or trekking up in the mountains? What if you could go to a place where you could watch volcanoes erupt?

Whatever your dream place is, you can find information about it by searching on the Internet, looking for books at the library, and picking up brochures from travel agents. With a little planning, you could make it there someday. Until then, you can dream and collect all the things you can find about this place in a special box to look through from time to time until your dream becomes a reality.

What You Need:

• Shoebox with lid
• Acrylic craft paint
• Paintbrush
• Images from magazines, books, brochures, or from the Internet that relate to your dream place
• Scissors or craft knife
• Small map of your dream location
• Craft glue
• Foam brush
• Decoupage glue

What You Do:

1. Paint your entire box a color you like
2. With scissors, cut out the images you want on the box from the materials you've gathered. Place each image on the piece of cardboard and carefully cut along their outlines.
3. Glue the small map of the country you're hoping to travel to on the lid of the box.
4. Cut images to fit inside of the map, trimming the outside images to to fit the contours of the border.
5. When you've filled in the map, outline it so with a bright color of paint so it'll stand out. Decorate the rest of the box as you want.
6. Use the foam brush to cover each side of the box and lid with a thin layer of decoupage glue to seal and protect your collage.
7. Fill your box with information that can help you get the your dream location someday. Use your box and its contents to convince your parents that they may like to go there as well (and take you, of course)!