Summer Edition: Teeny Tiny Trailblazers
Travel activities that support child development
We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure.
There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.
- Jawaharlal Nehru
Welcome to Digital Lunchbox, your weekly guide for raising kids in our digital era.
Welcome as well to this week’s Summer Edition, where we explore developmentally rich activities to enjoy with your child. This week, we’re discussing the joy of travel and how it benefits cognitive, emotional, and social development.
Did you know that simply encountering a novel environment, whether a new country or a new zip code, stimulates neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to form new connections? Neuroscientists have found that unfamiliar settings increase activity in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, areas tied to memory and flexible thinking. And research shows that early exposure to diverse and emotionally engaging environments enhances long-term cognitive flexibility and memory formation.
To gain these benefits, it does not matter how near or far you are straying. Whether your destination requires a passport and a long-haul flight, or is simply in a new-to-you part of town, it’s the act of stepping into the unfamiliar (while developmentally supported by trusted adults) that fuels growth.
A well-known article from Harvard Business Review explored studies showing that people who travel broadly or deeply return with greater creativity, cognitive flexibility, and interpersonal trust. In short: travel makes us wiser.
Enjoy the exploration, and see you next week, when we’ll take a look at the quiet power of meditation and how tuning in can help children thrive.
SNACKS
A news roundup of interesting articles related to technology and its impact on how kids learn, feel, and stay safe. Bookmark and read at your leisure.
A free STEM in Early Education guide, by the International Society for Technology in Education and Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ISTE+ASCD)
How to build AI literacy in schools from ISTELive25, by EdTech Magazine
Students can try on careers with a new augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) app, by GlobeNewswire
BIG SANDWICH
The main topic of the week. Peruse and muse with a favorite beverage in hand.
The Developmental Benefits of Travel
How Travel Supports the Growing Brain
Travel provides a rich, multi-layered learning experience that uniquely supports cognitive development. It brings together the development of executive function (planning, sequencing, decision-making), social-emotional skills (flexibility, empathy, teamwork), sensory novelty (engaging new sights, sounds, smells, and textures), and real-world problem solving (adaptation, navigation, and reflection).
Executive Function: Planning, sequencing, decision-making
Even before the bags are packed, travel presents a series of mental challenges like, “What should we bring?”, “What’s the plan if it rains?”, and “What’s the best way to get there?” Involving children in these logistics in age-appropriate ways builds core executive skills—planning, attention, working memory, and task-switching. These are the very skills that support school success, self-regulation, and independent problem-solving. It comes up a lot in this newsletter.
Spatial Awareness & Working Memory
Navigating unfamiliar environments requires the brain to construct new mental maps, often in real time. This activates the hippocampus, a key region for memory and spatial orientation. Taking different routes, reading maps (digital or paper), and using visual landmarks all help strengthen working memory, directional thinking, and flexible reasoning—skills that support math, reading comprehension, and attention in the classroom.
Cultural Literacy and Understanding
Everyday experiences in a new location, like overhearing an unfamiliar language, experiencing different routines, or trying new foods, offer subtle but powerful lessons in empathy and adaptability. Studies show that children with travel experience displays greater tolerance for ambiguity and an ability to consider multiple viewpoints. Exposure to and understanding cultural difference fosters cognitive flexibility, or the ability to think in new and adaptive ways.
Meaningful travel experiences also enhance memory. The brain encodes information more deeply when it is novel, emotionally salient, and multisensory. New environments often trigger the release of dopamine, which strengthens memory formation. Emotional highs (and humorous hiccups) create “flashbulb moments,” and sensory details like the smell of ocean air or the sound of unfamiliar birds, become deeply embedded in memory networks. Even short trips can lead to long-lasting memories, enriching both episodic (personal experience) and semantic (factual knowledge) memory.
Emotional Agility and Resilience
Travel’s inevitable hiccups, like bad weather, wrong turns, or last-minute changes, offer unexpected developmental value. These moments are opportunities to model and practice emotional flexibility: the ability to feel disappointment, frustration, or confusion, and still adapt. When children experience these “wobbly” moments alongside a calm and supportive adult, they strengthen their emotional regulation and build confidence in handling the unknown.
How to get the Most out of Your Travel
A little intention goes a long way. Here are simple suggestions to apply the concepts above to enrich the experience before, during, and after your trip.
Before the Trip
Challenge your child to pack for themselves (with a checklist, if needed).
Plot out locations on a paper map—teach cardinal directions and use landmarks.
Involve children in planning conversations: “What’s most important to do if we only have one day?”
Watch documentaries, read books, or learn basic phrases in the local language.
Use Google Earth to preview a location by virtually exploring a park, museum, or market.
During the Trip
Narrate your own decision-making to let kids hear your (ironclad, I’m sure!) reasoning in real time.
Take turns navigating with a physical or digital map.
Let your child lead part of the itinerary. They’ll likely retain and reflect on those experiences most.
Encourage photo-taking or travel sketching.
Send postcards! Children can practice storytelling, handwriting, and spatial recall by jotting a quick note to a family member, friend, or teacher
After the Trip
Create a memento: a scrapbook, slideshow, or a “trip box” of small souvenirs.
Reflect together: “What surprised you?” “What would you skip or do again?”
Try a recipe from the location you visited.
Keep the connection alive by reading a book by an author from the region or watching a film set there.
Travel-inspired Books to Spark the Imagination
Here are some journey-themed books that expand horizons from the comfort of your home:
Young Readers (Ages 3–6)
All Aboard the London Bus by Patricia Toht
This Is How We Do It by Matt Lamothe
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (an allegory of inner and outer exploration)
Middle Readers (Ages 7–10)
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Atlas of Adventures by Lucy Letherland (a visual encyclopedia of global fun)
Adolescents (Ages 11+)
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (travel through memory and identity)
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
NAPKIN NOTES
Shining a light on the everyday heroes contributing to digital wellness for children. Inspiration and resources abound.
AeroEducate by the Experimental Aircraft Association:
AeroEducate was created in 2018 by the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), North Carolina State University, and additional global partners to, “open the skies to all youth by delivering inspiring aviation activities and experiences that spark passion, build confidence, and connect young dreamers to a vibrant aviation community.”
Saving the day by:
AeroEducate has free content for students as well as information for parents with aviation activities, achievement badges, and career resources. They also provide classroom resources for teachers with activities, training tools, student career guidance, and additional activities for students beyond the classroom.
Who they fight for:
AeroEducate was created for K-12 students as well as teachers, parents, EAA chapters throughout the U.S., and all caregivers.
Superpower:
The EAA also runs its Young Eagles program, which has the inspiring mission of introducing children age 8-17 to the field of aviation by giving them their first ride in an airplane - free! As of July 7, 2025, this program has provided free flights to 2,436,644 Young Eagles.
SWEET TREATS
Happy little dismount as you continue on your way.
Delight yourself in the immersive travel game, City Guesser. No sign up needed, you can start right away. The game drops players into a random city, where you get a first-person video view, just strolling around. Points are awarded for guessing the correct city. Wandering around a mysterious city is surprisingly soothing and relaxing.