During the year, I take an incredibly quiet companion with me when traveling. It's a way to get children interested in travel and geography.

Slinky the Badger is seeing the world from planes, trains and automobiles.

How does that happen? The class sends me a stuffed animal, which I'll photograph at one or more key locations while on the road. E-mailed photos show where the class mascot has been. A postcard to the class adds a few details about the area, which the teacher can expound upon. A little class treat is sent, too, to personalize the journey with the students.

Check out:
 
Travels with Slinky
from Mrs. Zingler's kindergarten class
Lena, Wisconsin
2006-07 school year
 
The program is patterned after the Traveling Teddy Bear Program, a Society of American Travel Writers project that began in 1994. The bear is an ambassador, with the goal of traveling to places his owners can't go and meet people they can't meet.
 
This "Roads Traveled" column tells more:
Roads traveled: Kindergartners 'go along' to Ohio

Slinky the Badger gets a free trolley ride through downtown Cleveland. (www.travelcleveland.com, www.rideRTA.com) - Nebraska City, Nebraska, is the headquarters for the National Arbor Day Foundation, which specializes in the planting and care of trees (www.arborday.org). - The small town of Perry, Iowa, has a grand hotel that is called the Hotel Pattee. Each of the hotel's 40 rooms are decorated in a different way. This is the 1913 Farmhouse, which includes many farm wife handicrafts -- from quilts to embroidery on kitchen towels and aprons. (www.hotelpattee.com) - Moline, Ill., is the headquarters for the John Deere Company, which makes many types of farm and construction equipment. The visitors center tells more about the company's history and growth as the world's largest farm implement manufacturer. (www.deere.com) - Slinky meets an artist who works with glass, in a craft market in Santiago, Chile. - Mary and Slinky go to a Catholic church in Puerto Natales, a small town that is about two hours from the Torres Del Paine National Park in Patagonia, the southernmost part of Chile. - Slinky stayed in one of the sturdy tents at an ecocamp in Patagonia, at the foot of mountains and glaciers. Teacher Beth and Mary meet during a book signing in Green Bay. Slinky visits the Wisconsin State Capitol, Madison, to see the holiday tree. Kennedy Space Center, Florida, offers Slinky outer space experience. Living history actors share their winter fire with Slinky during Klondike Days in Eagle River, Wisconsin. Slinky discovers his love for race cars, while at the Children's Museum in Indianapolis. Slinky almost gets left behind at a Disney souvenir shop in Orlando, Florida. Wisconsin's first lady, Jessica Doyle (right), and travel writer Betty Stark get Slinky's help in a project at the Governor's Mansion in Madison. Alayna, who named Slinky, is glad to have him back home in Lena, Wisconsin. Back to top