21st Century Armchair Travel with Google Earth
Armchair travel enters the 21st century: Plan a new trip or reminisce about an old one using this application for your computer.
By: Bruce Campbell | Source: NRTA Live & Learn | THURSDAY, June 18, 2009
With a few key strokes, you can zoom in from this astronaut's view of the planet for a closer look.
In this closeup of Timbuktu, Mali, seen with Google Earth, you can even detect people and their shadows.
where to learn more
Learn the basics of navigating on Google Earth, including a video tutorial.
For how-tos on all its many features and capabilities, consult the 100+ page Google Earth User Guide.
Hear English teacher Jerome Burg being interviewed about how he creates his literary trips using Google Earth.
Scrapbooking Your Own Family Stories
Because Google Earth encourages users to customize, you can prepare a personalized scrapbook of your travels or family history to share with family and friends. Include place markers, routes, even links to restaurant reviews or favorite hotels. Add photos or scans of family memorabilia as you trace the path of your ancestors.
Tracing Family History: My wife's grandfather, Percy Fuller, spent most of his boyhood on Chilford Hall Farm in Cambridgeshire, England. His father, a landscape gardener, managed the greenhouses, gardens, and grounds there. (Top) Vine Cottage, where they lived. (Middle) Father and son, reunited on the farm after World War I. (Bottom) A bird's-eye view of Chilford Hall, which we located via Google Earth.
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