Camping Word Search

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campfire

Staring into a campfire measurably lowers blood pressure, an effect researchers link to its flicker, warmth, and crackle.

lantern

Early campers used candle lanterns with thin horn panes instead of glass, since horn would not shatter on the trail.

compass

A magnetic compass needle does not point to the true North Pole but to a wandering magnetic pole that drifts yearly.

knapsack

The word knapsack comes from an old German term meaning to snack, since the bag once held a traveler's food for the road.

hammock

Christopher Columbus brought the hammock back to Europe after seeing islanders in the Bahamas sleeping in woven nets between trees.

flashlight

Early flashlights gave such a brief, weak glow that you flashed them on and off, which is how they got their name.

campsite

Experienced campers pick a spot on higher, level ground so rainwater drains away instead of pooling beneath the tent floor.

wildlife

Feeding wild animals harms them, since they can forget how to find natural food and grow dangerously bold around people.

marshmallow

Ancient Egyptians made the first marshmallows from the sap of a real marsh mallow plant, mixed with honey for royalty.

binoculars

Binoculars are really two small telescopes joined together, using angled prisms inside to fold the light and flip the image upright.

stargazing

Far from city lights the naked eye can see thousands of stars, plus the faint glowing band of our own Milky Way.

waterfall

Angel Falls in Venezuela drops so far that much of its water scatters into fine mist before ever reaching the ground below.

mosquito

Only female mosquitoes bite; they need a blood meal to make eggs, while males live quietly on flower nectar.

hiking

Walking uphill burns calories so efficiently that hikers can need twice the food they would eat resting at home.

canoe

The oldest known boat is a canoe carved from a single pine log in the Netherlands over 10,000 years ago.

In their words