Disneyland Edutainment Part 8 of 10 ~ Adventureland ~ Reprised

Disneyland Edutainment Part 8 of 10 ~ Adventureland ~ Reprised

An Adventure in Learnin!

It’s Teaching Disney Thursday!

Adventureland is an exciting place to wonder through. This area inspires thinking about the world. Talk about travel and what places would be interesting to go to. You can talk about the different continents and the countries they hold. Again modes of transportation, both local and global can be discussed.

Explore The Jungle Cruise. It is a fun place to talk about the different animals and rivers outside of America. How far can a tiger really jump? What real signals do Hippos give before attacking and are then truly dangerous? What areas of the world are represented in the ride? Did I see the Nile River? Are we wondering through Africa? Wait is it Egypt? What other jokes could you make up for the ride? Think about the Captains patter and think how you would do it differently. How do they make the animals move? Did you know Tom Cruise was a Jungle Boat Skipper before he became a movie star?

Indiana Jones is a good place to talk about archeology and the study of history. What do real archeologists do? Do real archeologists always have such exciting adventures? Does the ride tell the same story as any one of the movies? Did or do people really worship gods like the one in the ride? What is the story the ride is telling? Can you figure out how they do your favorite effect on the ride?

Tiki Room is a fun place to talk about the Polynesian culture. Where is this culture from? Why do they have different Tiki gods? How do they make the birds, Tikis and flowers move and sing? What would it be like to live on a island? Have the child think like a bird, flower or Tiki and write a poem, song or story.

Tarzan’s Tree House is an interesting place. Read the original story and then watch the movie. Take a walk through Tarzan’s Tree House and see how it shows different parts of the story. How would you build a tree house? What type of things would you put into it? Why would people chose to live in a tree instead of on the ground? Stop at the camp and enjoy making music with the camp supplies that are around. What things can you find at home to make music with that are not “real” instruments?

Adventureland is a place to celebrate the wonder of doing something new and different. It encourages an interest in exploration. It is a good safe way to expose young children to the idea of travel outside of their know environment. It can encourage reading by having the child read exciting stories of adventure and exploration. Maybe you can continue the adventure at home by setting up a tent in the backyard or living room and let them play explorer. Let the family dog become a wolf, elephant or hippo, the family cat a tiger or lion and watch the child’s mind expand. Have them write a “journal” of their adventure. Check out your local museums for even more things to explore!