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Play GPS i-Spy

Discover Earth from space and how satellites help us to explore our world.

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You’ll need

  • Pens or pencils
  • Printed images of Earth from satellites
  • Worksheet (optional)
  • Devices with internet access (optional)
GPS I Spy Scavenger Hunt
DOCX – 1.4MB
Download GPS I Spy Scavenger Hunt

Before you begin 

  • Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. There's also more guidance to help you carry out your risk assessment, including examples.    
  • Make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely. 
  • Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help. 

Planning and setting up this activity 

  • Print at least five different satellite images per group that can be easily looked at. You could also have a device with internet access for each group, using a satellite programme, such as Google Earth.
  • You could also explore NASA Worldview, which shows updated images every 10 minutes. 
  • Each group of Scouts should have access to different images to encourage exploration.

A satellite is something that moves around a planet. Some satellites are natural, like the Moon, and others are man-made. Since 1957, people have launched thousands of satellites for different jobs, like taking pictures of space, helping with weather forecasts, and sending signals for phones and TV.

The first man-made satellite, Sputnik 1, was launched in 1957. It was a small metal ball with antennas and sent out a "beep, beep" sound that people could hear on radios. This was the start of space exploration.

Today’s satellites are more advanced. They have solar panels for power, antennas to send and receive signals, and cameras or other tools to do their jobs. Satellites need to stay the right temperature, so they use special materials to keep heat in or let it out.

  • Rainforest, with green trees and possibly some human-made developments (such as the Amazon Rainforest)
  • An urban area, with clear signs of urbanisation, such as streets and clusters of buildings (such as London or Edinburgh)
  • A volcano or mountain range, with circular, jagged landforms and a recognisable peak or caldera in the centre (such as The Alps, Eryri, or Mount Vesuvius)
  • A river network or delta, with winding rivers (such as the River Bann and Lough Neagh basin, the River Clyde and its estuary, or the River Thames and River Severn)
  • A large body of water, such as a sea or ocean with possible landforms or islands on the edge (such as the Indian Ocean or Baltic Sea)
  • A desert or dry landscape, with few or no plants, or rocky or flat areas (such as the Sahara Desert)
  • A coastal area or beach, showing water meeting land and possibly human structures, such as roads, piers, or shops (such as the Giant’s Causeway, Blackpool, St Andrews Beach, or the Pembrokeshire Coast)
  • Agricultural land, showing fields, farm buildings, rivers, fences, trees, hedgerows, and rows of crops, possibly with clear boundaries and structures (such as the Cotswolds, County Armagh, Aberdeenshire, and Devon or Cornwall)

 

Running this activity 

  1. Gather the group together and ask if anyone knows what a satellite is. 
  2. See if anyone can think of any other ways satellites might help us. They can: 
    1. track and predict weather 
    2. help scientists to monitor and tackle climate change 
    3. track endangered wildlife 
    4. help with navigation 
    5. help farmers by providing data on the health of cattle and crops and for water and soil management 
  3. Explain that a satellite is a moon, planet or machine that orbits a planet or star. For example, Earth is a satellite because it orbits the sun. But usually, the word ‘satellite’ refers to a machine that is launched into space and moves around Earth. Thousands of artificial, or human-made, satellites orbit Earth. Some are used to track weather, some are used to take pictures of space, other planets and galaxies. These pictures help scientists better understand the solar system and universe. Some satellites are used for communications: beaming TV signals and phone calls around the world. A group of more than 20 satellites make up the Global Positioning System, or GPS.
  4. Ask if anyone can think of something that might use GPS. If you’ve a GPS receiver, satellites can help figure out your exact location, such as on your phone or your satnav. GPS can help emergency services reach incidents much quicker, and enables planes, trucks, trains, ships and cars to be tracked and traced.
  5. Explain that you’re going to try and spot things using satellite images, just like a big game of i-Spy. 
  6. Ask everyone to get into groups and give out either the printed images or the devices. If you're using the devices, you could use Google Earth or NASA’s Worldview to see satellite images of Earth.
  7. Each group should lay out their printed images or make sure they can see the device.
  8. Give each team a ‘GPS-ISpy’ worksheet. If you don’t want to print the worksheets, you can read out the clues. You could also make it into a race, with the first team to find it getting a point. 
  9. In their teams, each group should: 
    1. Find as many locations or objects as they can from the list provided.
    2. Each clue will guide them to what they are looking for
    3. They should mark down the location they find and write down its name or description.
  10. Once everyone has completed the scavenger hunt, gather everyone back together.
  11. Ask each team to share what they found. You could discuss which locations were hardest to find, which were the most surprising, and which were the easiest.
  12. Then, explain that today, the images were still pictures, but when taken over time, they can show changes in the environment and track important shifts like climate change, deforestation, or the health of ecosystems. Reflect on how satellites can help us understand and address these changes. Can you think of any other ways satellites might be used in the future to protect the planet or deepen our understanding of the world?

Reflection

This activity was all about observation, exploration, and thinking like a scientist—just like the people who use satellites to study and protect our planet. Think about the satellite images you explored. Which one was the most interesting? Which was the hardest to find?

Today, satellites help us track weather, monitor climate change, and even protect wildlife. If you could design your own satellite, what would it do? How do you think satellites will help us in the future? What new discoveries could they help us make?

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

You must run your activities in line with the Safeguarding Code of Conduct for Adults (Yellow Card) and report any concerns to the UK HQ Safeguarding Team.

Online safety

Supervise young people when they’re online and give them advice about staying safe. Take a look at our online safety or bullying guidance. The NSPCC offers more advice and guidance, too. If you want to know more about specific social networks and games, Childnet has information and safety tips for apps. You can also report anything that’s worried you online to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command. As always, if you’ve got concerns about a young person’s welfare, including their online experiences, follow the Yellow Card to make a report.

Active games

The game area should be free of hazards. Explain the rules of the game clearly and have a clear way to communicate that the game must stop when needed. Take a look at our guidance on running active games safely.

Science

Supervise young people, and only do science activities that are advised and age appropriate for your section. Test activities first, to make sure you’re confident you can lead them safely. Use protective clothing where necessary.

  • To make this activity easier, you could make use more obvious things to find or use images that are more focused in. 
  • To make this activity harder, you could include more complex satellite images or have more specific things to find. 

Make it accessible

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Cubs Space Activity Badge

If you enjoyed this activity, you could learn more about life as an astronaut with our train like an astronaut activity. You could also explore virtual tours of the International Space Station (ISS), visit a science museum or watch a film about space exploration.   

Young people could decide on a list of things that another team needs to find in the satellite images.