US children beat UK in geography knowledge
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UK children are behind on US counterparts when it comes to knowing about their geography, according to a new Travelzoo poll.
The deal website’s latest survey found more than 25% of children couldn’t name which country resembles a boot, compared to 15% in the US.
Around 63% could name Washington DC as the capital of the USA, while 93% of US children knew the UK capital was London.
Worryingly 11% of UK children think Harry Potter’s school Hogwarts is a real landmark, while 25% of British children supposedly think the English Channel is an ocean.
The UK government already has plans to update the geography curriculum from September 2014 but Travelzoo is hoping to educate them itself with its new ‘Map the World’ iPad app launched today, Universal Children’s Day.
The app is similar to a ‘digital jigsaw’ that it hopes families will complete together, while also donating money to Open Arms Malawi if they choose. It has been endorsed by Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Annie Lennox.
“What initially started as a survey to find out how much children in the US and UK knew about the world around them, quickly turned into a wider project to help tomorrow’s generation learn more about our planet in a fun and interactive way,” says Chris Loughlin, Travelzoo’s CEO.
“The free iPad app offers children a timed challenge to drop all the countries of the world onto their correct locations on a map; a bit like a giant digital jigsaw puzzle, and has the added benefit of helping orphans in one of the world’s poorest countries should downloaders want to make a small donation.”
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