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Homeschool

Snapshots Across America is the Dr. Toy Award Winning Game where players learn U.S. Geography while "travelling" across a game-board map of the United States to "visit" actual places from all across America.

Great for helping families learn U.S. Geography as well as about many great Landmarks, National Parks, Museums, National Monuments, Memorials, Historical Sites, and many other fun and educational attractions all across America.

Snapshots Spotlight-Remembering Pearl Harbor

Remembering the Attack on Pearl Harbor

and the USS Arizona.

It started out as a quiet Sunday in Paradise, exactly 74 years ago today. On December 7, 1941.

The Naval Base at Pearl Harbor as it looked prior to the attack on December 7, 1941.
(Photo by US Navy on October 13, 1941, less than 2 months before the attack)

The Japanese Empire had made several successful conquests on the Eastern half of the Pacific. They viewed the United States as their primary obstacle to dominating the entire Pacific Ocean region. The Japanese fleet, including 6 aircraft carriers loaded with around 450 aircraft, departed Japan on November 26, 1941. Radar from an American Army outpost had detected a large aerial formation shortly before the attack, but it was disregarded as they thought it was incoming flight of friendly planes from the mainland that they were expecting that day.

The forward  weapons magazine on the USS Arizona explode shortly after 8:00 am after being hit.
(Official U.S. Navy Photo)

The first wave of Japanese places attacked at 7:55 am, local time, and caught the U.S. Pacific Fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor completely by surprise. The enemy attack concentrated on “Battleship Row” and the six airfields nearby. Eight U.S. Battleships were put out of commission. 2,335 U.S. soldiers and 68 civilians lost their life in that attack

The USS Arizona sinking after being hit.
(Source U.S. National Archives and Records Administrationfrom the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library)

The USS Arizona suffered the worst damage of the entire fleet when its artillery magazine was hit, causing a chain reaction of explosions on the ship. 1,104 servicemen aboard it lost their lives in that attack, accounting for almost half of all the casualties from that day.

An aerial view of the USS Arizona Memorial straddling the sunken hull of the Battleship that sank in the Attack on Pearl Harbor.
(US Navy Photo by  Jayme Pastoric Cropped from original)

The USS Arizona Memorial is one of the most visited National Historical Sites in the United States. The next day, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressed Congress and the Nation. "Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan."

In these troubling times, let us always remember the resolve and commitment that the generations who have gone before have done to protect our Great Nation and the Freedoms we have.

The USS Arizona Memorial, in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is one of the popular attractions featured in the latest edition of Snapshots Across America.

For more information on Pearl Harbor visit:

National Parks Teaching With Historic Places Lesson Plans

http://www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/18arizona/18arizona.htm

http://www.pearlharbor.org/

www.SnapshotsUSAgame.com

Announcing the New Snapshots Across America

Announcing the New Snapshots Across America

It's finally here! The New Edition of Snapshots Across America.

Whats New?

More Cards: now with 124 cards compared to 110 in the previous edition.

New Tri-Fold game-board map of the United States, that is 13" x 22".

New compact size box, 13.5" x 7.5" by 2.25".

Newly redesigned instructions.

New larger and updated photos of favorite attractions form before, on a slightly larger card.

Many new attractions

New Color-Coded specialty cards to better identify them.

Transportation Cards have a Blue Border:

Bad Weather Cards have a Red Border

And Travel Cancel Cards have an Orange Border.

And much more.

Ask for for the New Snapshots Across America game.

Where to buy (keep checking back for new stores and online educational websites):

Official Online Store for Snapshots Across America 

http://snapshotsusagame.com

Toy House, 400 N. Mechanic St. Jackson, MI 49201

Love To Learn homeschool resources

http://www.lovetolearn.net/Snapshots-Across-America

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Snapshots Spotlight: Yosemite National Park.

Yosemite from Andrew Julian on Vimeo.

Snapshots Spotlight:

Yosemite National Park

I wanted to share a video I came across that really shows the “Heart and Soul” of one of America’s Greatest National Parks. Yosemite Valley was designated by Congress in 1864 as a protected land area under the control of California as the World’s first official State Park. Yosemite National Park was later established in 1890, and was the third most popular National Park in America with 3,882,642 visitors during 2014.



While I have visited several of America’s great National Parks, I still haven't been to Yosemite. But after seeing the grandeur of this magnificent video by Andrew Julian, it is definitely now on my "bucket list" to do some day.

There is no naration. Just the power of images of some of the greatest scenery in the United States... set to music. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but a video like this is worth many more. I love the fact that not only does this story show amazing landscapes, mountains, lakes and waterfalls, but people enjoying nature. I think it is summed up by a quote from John Muir, one of the greatest proponents of Yosemite National Park, and a co-founder of the Sierra Club.

“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people
are beginning to find out that going to the mountains
 is going home; that wildness is a necessity;
and that mountain parks and reservations are useful
 not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers,
but as fountains of life.”

John Muir, "Our National Parks", 1901

If you love the beauty of nature and the outdoors, hopefully this will be one of the most soul inspiring stories, lasting only 3 minutes and 19 seconds you will ever see on the internet.

Yosemite National Park is one of the many popular tourist attractions featured in the educational geography game, "Snapshots Across America".

Follow our blog for more Snapshots Spotlights about the many great tourist attractions featured in the educational boardgame, Snapshots Across America. 

For more information about Snapshots Across America, and the new updated edition to be release this coming Summer 2015, follow us on Twitter or Facebook

Welcome to the New Snapshots Across America Blog.

A brief history of Snapshots Across America, the Vacation Destination Board Game.

Snapshots was first created and published in 1997, in Jackson, Michigan. It was originally test marketed and sold in approximately 10 stores in 3 different states.

In 1998 it was licensed to Tedco, Inc., an educational toy manufacturer located in Hagerstown, Indiana.

Tedco, Inc. introduced Snapshots in February 1999 at the International Toy Fair in New York.

Also in 1999 Snapshots won 2 Dr. Toy Awards for 10 Best Games, and 100 Best Children's Products.

In 2001 Talicor, Inc. took over manufacturing and distribution of the 3rd edition which has become a popular educational United States Geography game.

In 2004, Snapshots Across America was featured in an article in the Reader's Digest on educational games for Children.

We appreciate all of our fans, especially those who recommend and use our game in the educational field, and homeschooling.

We are proud to announce the new edition of Snapshots Across America to be released in the Fall of 2015. This will be the fourth edition of Snapshots and will have many improved features including:

• An expanded deck with more Attraction Cards than before.
• Larger sized cards with larger sized photos than previous editions.
• Expanded educational information about popular Attractions.
• More transportation cards than before
• More Bad Weather Cards and transportation cancel cards than before.
• Improved and updated instructions and rules.
• New expansion decks to be released starting in the Fall of 2015 to add even more popular attractions than those in the standard deck.

For more updated information, follow our blog or like us on Facebook