The adjustment varies across the country and you can generally find it printed on your map in the key. Stand still, then ask them to walk away from you in the direction indicated by the direction of travel arrow. Beam compasses have a straight-edged ruler supporting its two arms, providing a wide drawing diameter.

Historians think China may have been the first civilization to develop a magnetic compass that could be used for navigation. If you secure one leg to a surface, you can then determine the radius of a circle by setting the distance of the second leg. Simply hold the watch parallel to the ground (in your hand) and point the hour hand in the direction of the sun. Other adaptations have been made to magnetic compasses over time, especially for their use in marine navigation. With this pack children will be taught about how compasses work, given maps with an “escape the zoo challenge”, informational posters and instructions on how to use a compass.

For a quick basic exercise to orient yourself, it's good to find out which direction you're currently facing or traveling. Some people who find this action difficult often hold the compasses still and move the paper round instead. They discovered that some metal from the ground was naturally magnetic and so were able to use these metals, known as lodestone, or magnetite, to magnetise iron needles in the first types of compass. The worksheet makes the activity easy to follow and can even be printed off in black and white, so if the children want to colour in their sheets they can. For example, if you want to find which direction is North, rotate slowly with the compass until the travel arrow is pointing to the N on the dial.

With almost 15 years of experience, Josh specializes in outdoor adventure trips for teens both in the United States and internationally. Get your children looking at a compass in more detail with the Make Your Own Compass Rose Worksheet . The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The needle point is located on the steady leg, and serves as the center point of the circle that is about to be drawn.Line up point A and B with either the side of your compass or one of the black lines running down the base plate, making sure that the direction of travel arrow is point in the direction you want to go in (so towards point B). The direction of travel arrow should still point straight ahead - that's the way you are going, towards B. One branch has a pencil sleeve while the other branch is crimped with a fine point protruding from the end. When you reach out to them, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource. Magnetic North is not a fixed point and changes over time in response to the changes in the Earth’s core.