“Are we there yet?” “Stop touching me!” “I have to pee.” Today we took a road trip that did NOT involve any of that. The kids rolled dice to move cars hundreds of miles across a map of the US. Big kids also had to track their gas usage so they wouldn’t run out!
On their trip, the kids learned Party Fun Facts about our interstate highway system. Let’s see if you know these, too!
- All interstates that run the whole length of the US – coast to coast, or from Canada to Mexico – are multiples of 5.
- Interstates that run east-west are even numbers, like the famed Route 66. North-South interstates are odd.
- Highways that connect the East Coast and West Coast are multiples of 10. For example: Route 80 runs from San Francisco all the way to New York.
- Highways that run up and down the coasts end in a 5, since they’re odd multiples. I-5 goes all the way from north of Seattle to the tip of California, and I-95 runs from Maine to Florida.
Keep the geographic exploration going by checking out a map together for more patterns:
- Extensions that branch off an interstate start with an odd number of hundreds and tack on the interstate’s 2 digits.
- Bypasses that reconnect with the interstate start with an even number of hundreds.
- Plus there are lots of shorter interstates near you that don’t cross the country, but still follow the odd-even rule.
For a real-life experience, show your kids the odometer and gas gauge next time you get in a car. See how they have changed after you drive. So buckle up – and be sure to make a potty stop first!
