Our Tinkering School friend Steve Davee, from the Opal Charter School in Portland, Oregon first mentioned the idea of a “provocation” as a way of describing something that instigates an area of inquiry. He collects provocations for use in his classroom to engage kids in mathematics, geography, science, and so on. I liked the notion so much I thought I would start recording them as they occurred to me – then it completely slipped my mind until I was listening to Episode #136 of This American Life, wherein David Sedaris describes a game. So this is not my idea, but I like the way that it could be used to get kids to think about what really defines a sense of place.

Where Are You?
Pick a random moment in the day, some time when you least expect it, and stop. Notice where your feet are, and remember that exact spot – you cannot move more than 10 feet from there, until you can solve one riddle: Using only what you can see, the conversations and noises you can hear, the odors that you smell, and the breezes and sunshine that you feel, can you determine what country, and city you are in? No fair asking people leading questions, you must use the clues that are around you at this exact spot.

For example, sitting here at my kitchen table, I note than almost all of the pictures and papers on my refrigerator have English words on them, so I am probably in one of the English-speaking countries like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, or the US. Closer examination of the papers reveals a water delivery schedule from Arrowhead Water Company in South San Francisco – aha! I’m in the US, probably in California, somewhere near or in the city of South San Francisco. And so it goes.

To get you started, set the alarm on your watch or cell phone for 97 minutes from now. When the alarm goes off – the game begins. Let me know when you figure out where you are and how you did it.