Grown ups guide

 

2. What is Discover Explore?

Discover Explore is part of Discovering Places, the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad campaign to inspire the UK to discover their local, natural, built and historic environments.

Discover Explore is an exploration game which starts on this website and takes you, your family or school group on adventures to various locations around the UK. Full of fun, engaging and educational activities, which we call missions, this website is a tool for discovery which we hope will:

• Encourage you and your children to discover new places;
• Suggest inspirational ways to explore new places;
• Help you and your children to learn and discover natural and human heritage together.

3. Why Discover Explore?

Discover Explore can be used to help you and your children to learn about historical places in creative ways. The missions are designed to be fun, challenging and inspirational. Using Discover Explore can:

• Inspire new ways to play, explore and investigate;
• Uncover stories and facts;
• Help their social studies including history and geography;
• Be a place to record, track and share their progress, and;
• Make visits to heritage sites more meaningful, memorable and engaging.

4. How do you make the most of Discover Explore?

On this website you will find a selection of locations to choose to explore. Each location will have a set of four specific missions for you and your children to complete whilst there. On each Location page we will provide you with all the important information that we think you’ll need to know to ensure your adventure is a successful one. This includes an ordnance survey map, top survival tips and explorer essentials. There is also a section called ‘info for grown ups’ which gives you information on directions to each location, accessibility, parking, opening and closing times, entry fees (if any), refreshment and toilet facilities plus an approximation of how long it will take to complete the missions and age suitability. All this will also be available on a downloadable Explorer Pack for each location.

To make the most of Discover Explore it's a good idea to:

1. Join Up and Become an Explorer by registering for an account. You, and/or your children can all become explorers. You don’t have to do this, but that way you can keep a record of your children’s (and your own!)achievements.
2. Read through the How to Play section of this website. We recommended you share the important bits with your family and/or children and encourage them to check out the How to Play themselves.
3. Complete our safety training, by reading this Grown Ups Guide and our Survival Guide. We recommended you share the important bits with your family and/or children and encourage them to check out the Survival Guide themselves.
4. Choose the locations that are of interest to you and complete as many missions as you can in each location. There are four missions at each location. Badges are available for successfully completing The Trail and The Games Missions so we recommend you try to complete these two at least.
5. The Games Explorer badge can only be won by visiting three of the locations, completing the missions and answering the questions online. You may wish to consider this when planning your trip.
6. Plan ahead and download the relevant Explorer Packs in advance. We recommend you print them if possible to give the children something to write and draw on. There is space to answer the questions and a place to display the badges they win. If preferred you can download our PDF files onto your Kindle, iPad, phone or other device before you leave. Remember, even if you have a smart phone, many places have poor internet connectivity. Take something to draw with and on. If you have a camera, sound recorder or other equipment all the better.
7. Keep a log of you and your children’s explorations and achievements! You can do this online in the Explorer Log on your Explorer Profile and on the Award Page in your Explorer Pack. .

5. Is Discover Explore safe for families and young children?

We take child safety very seriously.

• All accounts created will be anonymous and private.
• Only the account holder and administrators of Discover Explore have access to view these accounts.
• All children should read the Survival Guide which includes details on keeping safe online and when out exploring, before embarking on any missions.
• All children have access to all the features on the network including keeping an explorer log and the downloadable explorer pack.

Anyone aged under 13:

• Is required to provide their parent’s email address in order to join up. A code sent to this email address needs to be activated before the account is opened;

We assess levels of benefit and risk for every activity on this website. Despite this, we advise you to make your own judgements and carry out any necessary risk assessments before allowing children to complete any mission or exploration. You will be the best judge of what is reasonably safe for your child’s level of experience and ability.

In addition conditions can change quickly in places where missions are located. This is especially true in upland and exposed places. We encourage you to always plan ahead when visiting the countryside and to follow our Survival Guide and read up on the Scottish Outdoor Access Code and/or Natural England, Countryside Code.

For more details see our privacy page.

6. Who is Discover Explore?

Discover Explore is written and managed by the Discovering Places team and is supported by many partner organisations whom have helped to shape and develop it. We hope to encourage young people, their families and guardians to see and explore the world in new ways, become a little more confident, happy, empathetic and knowledgeable.

Discover Explore has been built by The Workshop. It is part of Discovering Places, which is principally funded by the National Lottery through the Olympic Lottery Distributor. Discovering Places is delivered in partnership between The Heritage Alliance and London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

7. Contact us

If you have any questions, suggestions, concerns, requests or comments please contact us.