Have you ever considered giving world globes as presents to the younger people in your life? It is a great idea and the benefits that the child will receive from a gift like this are great.
When you give a child globes, you are literally giving him or her the world itself. It is true that these are fairly low-tech gifts, but the amount of knowledge and learning they can take from one of these is staggering. Not only can they learn the names and locations of various places on the planet, but they can also learn about the people of the planet as well. If a child asks you where Darfur is, you can actually show him or her on the map and then explain to them why this place is in the news currently. If a child is reading a religious story, you can show them the places that are mentioned in their story and explain to them why things are the way they are. Seeing something on globes and having it explained to them is one of the best ways to get a child to understand and appreciate a particular subject.
If you had globes of any kind when you were a kid, you probably remember the hours that you spent looking at it. There is a true sense of accomplishment when you go searching for a place and find it! There is also a somewhat subtle sense of appreciation gained for the planet itself as you explore the oceans and the mountains and the ice caps. Using only a finger, you could retrace the adventures of Christopher Columbus or Captain Cook. You could follow along with Stanley and Livingston as they made their way through Africa. You could trace the Nile from its beginning to its end, and visit the places where the ancient pyramids are located. If your orb had relief features, you could feel the mountain ridges as you ran your fingers over them.
Yes, some kids today might balk when first presented with one of these as a gift. They would prefer a new video game perhaps or some new fashionable sneakers that will be out of fashion in three months, but give one anyway and then step back and watch what happens. It only takes a few minutes of encouragement from you to get a child interested in the planet. They have a natural sense of curiosity, and when you give them the world to look at and to study, they will do just that.
Word count: 423