Bring Your Grandkids on a Trip Down Memory Lane (With a Twist!)

Imagine being able to travel back in time and walk the streets of your childhood with your grandchildren. You can share laughs over your fashion choices and marvel at how much has changed.

Well, no need to invent a time machine. You can do something similar just by heading to Google Earth.

This free and easy-to-use tool lets you hop around the globe – from your old school playgrounds to that ice cream shop where you and your spouse had your first date – all from the comfort of your living room.

Why Google Earth is Your New Best Friend

Google Earth is an interactive way to share your history with your grandkids. It’s like having a teleportation device that instantly takes you anywhere in the world you want to go.

You can view places from above like you’re floating overhead in a hot air balloon. Or you can dive into Street Views as if you’re really there.

In Google Earth, you can show your kids the house you grew up in, where you went to school, your favorite vacation destinations, and other meaningful spots from your past.

You can do this using Google Maps, too. However, Google Earth is better for a few reasons. Some key ones include…

1. It has Immersive 3D View. This means it gives you detailed 3D views of buildings, landscapes and landmarks. It’s a more immersive and visually engaging way to explore places than Maps.

2.  Google Earth has historical imagery so you can see how places have changed over time.

3. You can create personalized placemarkers. This makes it easy to mark important locations to share with your grandkids.

4. Google Earth includes some cool educational tools. For example, you can measure distances and areas which can help teach your grandkids about geography and spatial relationships.

First Steps on Your Virtual Time Travel

Getting started with Google Earth is easy. Here’s all you need to do…

1. Quick Setup: If you’re not already on Google Earth, get it on your device.

You can use it on your smartphone by downloading and installing the app (it’s available in both Apple and Google app stores).

Or, if you don’t want the app, you can just go to the Google Earth website – https://earth.google.com/web/ – on your tablet or computer.

Either way, Google Earth is easy, and yes, you can handle it!

2. Hunt for Treasures: Start with your childhood home—type in the address and zoomZoom is a versatile video conferencing platform that enables users to connect and collaborate remote... More away! Then navigate to your old haunts, your schools, memorable vacation destinations and those secret spots only you knew about.

3. Bookmark the Memories: Drop pins on those special places. Each pin holds a story—like that time you snuck out of school and made history by not getting caught (though you might not want to give them any ideas😊)!

Engaging the Grandkids

Using Google Earth can be fun to do on your own. But it becomes much more fun if you use it with your grandkids. Here are some ideas to help make it a memorable experience for them.

• Don’t Just Show… Tell: Every place has a story. Maybe share how you were the neighborhood hide-and-seek champion and show them your favorite hiding spots. Or how Grandma made the best lemonade and sold it on this corner in the neighborhood.
• Turn It into a Lesson: Slide in some wisdom between the laughs. Show them how things used to be, what’s changed, and maybe sneak in a bit of history about your hometown or family heritage.
• Keep a Record: Let them take the wheel! Kids can save spots, take screenshots, and even help plot the next place to explore. It’s like a digital treasure map they help create.

Tips for a Smooth and Fun Journey

• Trial Run: Play around with Google Earth before you bring in the grandkids. No one needs to know it took you five tries to figure out how to zoom properly!
• Interactive is Key: Have them guess the next location or why it was significant to you. It’s fun to see their imaginations run wild!
• Time Flies When You’re Having Fun: Keep sessions short. Leave them wanting more, and you’ll have them begging for the next storytelling session with Google Earth!

This is a great activity for a rainy day, before bed or when the grandkids are bouncing off the walls like pinballs and you need a break!

Using Google Earth like this is a great opportunity to bond with your grandkids. It can help bridge the gap between generations by using technology in a way that both educates and entertains.

So give it a try! Take your grandkids on a journey that they—and you—will treasure forever.

Where’s the first place you’ll visit on Google Earth? Leave a comment below!