Around the World in 80 Days Theme Upgrade

A while back I wrote a post with 5 ideas for an Around the World in 80 Days theme for this site. This is the big, burly version…the upgrade, if you will.

While an “Around the World in 80 Days Theme” could be an “International Theme”, in the book only certain cities and countries are written about:

• London, England
• Suez, Egypt
• Bombay, India
• Calcutta, India
• Victoria, Hong Kong (under British rule)
• Yokohama, Japan
• San Francisco, CA, USA
• Omaha, NE, USA
• New York, NY, USA

The 2004 movie adaptation (the one most kids will know) veered away from the book a bit in locations and a lot in content.

• London, England
• Paris, France
• unidentified area of Turkey
• Agra, India
• Lanzhou, China
• San Francisco, CA, USA
• unidentified western desert of USA
• New York, NY, USA

For this post we are going to stick mainly with the book version.

DECORATIONS

Phileas Fogg took different modes of transportation to get around the world. Though he didn’t take a hot air balloon in the book, he did take one in the movie. The biggest portions of his trip were by train and boat. Below are some ideas for decorating around transportation used to get around the world in 80 days in the 1890s.

Trains

Creating a cardboard or butcher paper train to stick on a wall. While the photo here is a standee for Vacation Bible School, it is a good example of what you can make…or you can just buy something like it online.

Then add a few crossing signs.

It would be great to have railroad tracks lead to the different activities or the different countries that the train would travel to. Get out your duct tape. I also like the crumpled brown paper to make it look like a cave-like tunnel entrance.

If you have a little extra money in the budget consider renting a train bounce house. Each time the groups travel to a different location they have to “take the train”.

Ships

The steamer ships of the late 1800s could be drawn on butcher paper as well.

Or, you can decorate a room like you’re on a cruise ship…

Hot Air Balloon

You could also make a few Chinese lantern hot air balloons and hang them up. Although, I would purchase some small baskets from a place like Cost Plus World Market instead of using the little plastic pails in the photo.

Other

Placing posters around is always fun.

Luggage and steamer trunks are another nice touch. Check Craigslist for items like this.

I would also recommend either inexpensive wall clocks or fake ones on butcher paper, each positioned to different time zones.

Create some wanted posters with the faces of your staff and hang them around camp.

 

PAGE 2 – Opening Activities and London, England
PAGE 3 – Paris, France
PAGE 4 – Bombay, India
PAGE 5 – Hong Kong, China
PAGE 6 – Yokohama, Japan
PAGE 7 – San Francisco and New York, USA
PAGE 8 – Cultural Mistakes