Be Prepared
• 5 of the goals of this scavenger hunt are within easy walking distance of the Manulife Sportsplex. The last goal is a 20 minute walk down an accessible, paved trail. It is recommended that you dress appropriately for the walk and the weather.
• Equipment necessary for this hunt includes a pencil and some paper, a compass, and a smartphone or other device with a functioning GPS, and an internet connection through data. You may use a compass app if you do not have a physical compass. However, switching between the compass and coordinates page can be difficult. If possible, use two devices.
• Some of the goals require crossing parking lots and roads. Please use caution and be aware of your surroundings. Children should be accompanied by an adult.
• You will get something out of this hunt. Collect all the clues to find out what it is.
• Completing this hunt requires some knowledge of coordinates and some math. Read below to learn how to do this, and also for some troubleshooting tips and shortcuts.
Fast Tips
• For the website to work, you need to have location services enabled on your device, and you must give the website permission to access your location.
• On the “Try to get to” pages, your current location is updated for every 20m you travel. Stay on this page, and use it to help you decide if you are getting closer or farther from your goal. More importantly, when you reach your goal, this page will alert you to your success, and then bring you to information about the goal you have arrived at.
• If you have not used the location services on your phone for a while, give it about 10 minutes to warm up.
• You can use a physical compass, or a compass app. If you do use a compass app, it is recommended that you have it set up on a second device, as it can be difficult to switch between both apps on a single phone.
How Do I Use the Coordinates to Determine Which Way to Travel?
The “Try to get to” coordinates tell you the location of the goal in relation to the equator, and the prime meridian. The north coordinate tells you how many degrees in latitude north of the equator the goal is. The west coordinate tells you how many degrees longitude it is west of the prime meridian.
The “Your current location” coordinates tell you the same information about your own location.
Given the goal coordinates, and your own current coordinates, you can do a simple comparison of the numbers to find out which direction you need to head in. For example:
•The Sportsplex parking lot is:
North: 43.5185, West: 80.5014
•Goal 1 is at:
North: 43.5194 West: 80.5005
Let’s compare the two coordinates to find out what direction we need to head in.
First the North Coordinates
| Parking Lot: | N 43.5185 |
| Goal 1: | N 43.5194 |
All the numbers except the last 2 are the same, so let’s focus on those. If you compare the last 2 numbers, you’ll see that 85<94 (85 is less than 94). Therefore, the parking lot at N 43.5185 is not as north as Goal 1 at N 43.5194. To get to Goal 1, we need to go north. A compass can tell you which direction is north.
If you want to know how far north you have to travel, do some subtraction of the last 2 digits.
94-85 = 9.
Physically, the numbers in the 4th decimal place represent distance in increments of 10m. So 0.0001 = 10m, and 0.0004 = 40m. Take the 9 you got by subtracting 94-85, multiply it by 10, and now you know you need to travel about 90m south to get to Goal 1.
Now the West Coordinates
| Parking Lot: | W 80.5014 |
| Goal 1: | W 80.5005 |
Again, all the numbers except the last 2 are the same, so we only need to compare them. When we compare we see that 14>05 (14 is greater than 5). Therefore, the parking lot at W 80.5014 is more west than Goal 1 at 80.5005.
We need to head less west to reach Goal 1, meaning we must go east. Check your compass, and off you go!
If you want to find out how far west, you can subtract. 14-05= 9. Again multiply our answer by 10. 9x10= 90m.
Now we know we need to travel approximately 90m east, to get to Goal 1 from the Sportsplex parking lot.
That's Too Much Math!
If this seems overwhelming, remember you don’t actually need to calculate the distance. Just figure out which direction to travel in, and watch your current location as it updates. Occasionally, you’ll want to stop, and see if you’re heading in the right direction by comparing your current coordinates to your goal coordinates.
If you want to see it in action Goal 1 is located…
***Spoiler Alert!***
……by a rock on the east side of the Sportsplex building. Open the page with the Goal 1 coordinates to see a picture of the rock. Watch your current location change as you walk in that direction. When you are standing next to the rock, the page should give you an alert. Clicking on the alert will bring you to a page with information on why the goal is in that spot.
Where are the Other Goals?
If you’re really, really stuck, you can enter the coordinates of a goal into Google Maps, and Maps will drop a pin at your destination. Enter the north coordinate first, followed by a comma. Then put a minus sign in front of the west coordinate before you enter it. So for Goal 1, you need to type in:
43.5194, -80.5005
Now you can see the goal point on the map. Just remember to go back to the goal 1 coordinate page once you reach the spot, so that the alert will pop up, and you’ll be able to continue reading information on the goal from there.
Good Luck!
