The Odyssey: Overview

History
Background
Travel
Service
Site Studies
Educational Program

Odyssey Overview

The World Trek: The Odyssey is sending a team of adult volunteers to travel around the world on a two-year trek . They will spend six weeks in each of eleven major non-Western cultural centers and will document their experiences and the lives and perspectives of the people they meet in video, audio, photos and text. This content will be posted on The Odyssey website twice a week so students can follow along. All of this is available free on our website.

The Pilot Trek, Mexico Trek, was successfully completed in the Fall of 1998, and is available for use by teachers everywhere at any time.

Spring 1999
Latin America - Antigua, Guatemala - Cuzco, Peru

Fall 1999
Africa - Harare, Zimbabwe - Bamako, Mali - Cairo, Egypt

Spring 2000
The Middle East - Jerusalem, Israel - Istanbul, Turkey - Tehran, Iran

Fall 2000
India to China - New Delhi, India - Xian, China

The Educational Itinerary:

The Odyssey ties into National Educational Standards to help teachers bring their subject matter to life! If teachers cover Aztec culture, so do we. But we visit the ruins, attend ceremonies, talk with experts, and let students chat with the locals!

We also explore critical global themes such "The Environment and Development," "Globalization,"and "Poverty."

The Odyssey will also have one live "Webcast" with a significant person from each site. The first Webcast from Guatemala will feature the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize Activist, Rigoberta Menchu.

Engaging the Students:
The students can follow each stage of the Trek on the Odyssey website.

The Trekkers - Here the Team documents the Trek and students share suggestions about what the team should do.
Trek Connect - Here the students share their opinions with each other and participate in live chats with each other, the team, and people around the world.
Making a Difference - Here the students find the service learning activities.
Guide Book - This is where youth find background information on the region the team is traveling through, as well as links to other useful sites

Engaging the Teachers:

Teachers have their own "Teacher Zone" on the website. For each of the team updates there is a corresponding Teacher Guide that summarizes the content and has suggestions for use. For each site the team visits and each of the themes they cover, there are lessons for teachers to further develop those topics. There is also a bulletin board for teachers to share their ideas. Everything posted on the web is archived for access by anyone, anytime, anywhere!

Bringing it all together:

The Odyssey is a non-profit 510(c)(3) corporation. We are able to deliver this quality program free-of-charge to teachers thanks to donations from individuals and sponsorships from businesses and organizations. Please help us - your generosity will make a difference!