Introduction

In this WebQuest your first task is to explore what a shelter is, who needs one, why we have them, what we are sheltering from etc.

Shelters are much more complicated than you might think, so the first essential is to get a clear picture in your mind of what counts as a shelter.

As well as this simple definition, you will also need to know about the various categories of shelter, types of construction, design features, uses etc. These few pictures will immediately show you what a huge range of different types of shelter there are, and what very varied functions they are designed to achieve.

Does the brolly count as a shelter? You can't answer that at the moment, but it's a very valid question. What similarities are there between the dog kennel and the Mir space station - if any? Another interesting question, and there will be a lot more like these.

Part of this process will be to make you ask lots of questions about things that are so familiar to you that you hardly ever give them a thought. Part of your task is to think up some queries of your own that will help you analyse the major questions posed by this Quest.

This can be a lot of fun, and often leads to a really interesting discussion - for example, could the coloured face paint the Australian cricketers use to shelter their noses from the sun be counted as a real "shelter"? The peak of their cap would count as a shelter. A bit of card glued onto their sunglasses would count as a shelter. Face paint ???? - does that count as a shelter? It serves exactly the same purpose as the peaked cap or the sunglasses extension!!