U.S. State Virtual Tour and Budget Project

This product includes instructions for a U.S. state virtual tour and budget project. Students will use real life math and research skills to plan a trip through a U.S. state and then create a virtual tour of this trip. This assignment is a great way to incorporate 21st century skills into your classroom.

Objectives:

• Create a travel itinerary through your state within a set budget.
• Use this itinerary to create a virtual tour of your trip with Google Tour Builder.

The Scenario:

• You have a $3,000 budget. You must fly a family of four (Mom, dad, and two children: ages eleven & two) roundtrip from Los Angeles, CA (LAX) to your state capital. Then, you must rent a car and visit four tourist attractions over the course of six days (two travel days and then one attraction per day).  You will visit each attraction as a family and stay at a nearby hotel each night. Your trip is six days, five nights. All food has already been paid for by a Go Fund Me Page created by your family.

Things to Consider:

• Your daily activities might include parks, landmarks, museums, sporting events, or other activities you enjoy.  Research the locations/attractions you’re going to visit. They must be either important to the state, historic, or entertaining.
• To allow for appropriate travel time to get to and from your destination, do not plan any activities on the first and last day (Those are travel days and allow for flight time flexibility).
• When calculating costs, be sure to check on age restrictions.  You are at the age that is sometimes charged a child’s admission, and other times charged a teen, or even adult price.  Younger siblings may fly or be admitted to locations for free depending on age.
• Some activities are free.  Despite having free admission, they still charge for parking and other items.  Don’t forget to include those costs in your calculations.

Components:

• Graphic Organizer for travel plans (airfare, car rental, hotels, and attractions)
• Evidence of information through screenshots
• Reliable sources and hyperlinks
• Tour Builder sample projects and tutorial
• Reflection
• Grading rubric

Reflection Questions:

• Were you successful staying under budget? If so, how much money did you have leftover? What could your family do with this extra money?
• What was the hardest or most challenging part of planning this trip? How so? Explain.
• If you were to plan this vacation all over again, what would you do differently? Why? Explain.
• What part of planning this trip was the most fun? Why? Explain.
• Do you think this trip could be a realistic option for your real family? Why or why not?

Google Tour Builder: (Optional and also sold separately)

Using Google Tour Builder, create a virtual tour of your vacation. Tour Builder is a new way to show people the places you've visited and the experiences you had along the way using Google Earth. It lets you pick the locations right on the map, add in photos, text, and video, and then share your creation. Post your tour link here & attach it to your assignment submission page as well:

• In your tour you must include IN ORDER: The airport, all 4 hotels, and all 4 attractions.  
• Each location must include its name, a written description, and images. Videos are optional

A tutorial and sample projects/gallery are included.

Grading rubric included!

Download includes a Word Doc with the Google Link to the assignment. It will force you to make your own EDITABLE copy. Easily shareable through Google Classroom and Google Drive. Must have internet access.

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