Just two more days until Jules Verne’s birthday on February 8th. He’ll turn 194. How will you celebrate?
I have a few ideas for you. For convenience, I’ll separate them into categories.
Low-Cost At-Home Activities
- Read (or re-read) one of his books. Perhaps the best way to celebrate.
- Join the North American Jules Verne Society.
- Watch a movie inspired by one of Verne’s books. There are dozens to choose from, some available on the internet.
- Toast to Verne with some French wine, and, as the wine takes effect, imagine taking an extraordinary voyage of adventure to some far-off, exotic location.
- Play a game of whist with three fellow Verne enthusiasts. (Verne’s characters often played that game.)
- Write your own fictional adventure story set in a place you’ve never been.
- Imagine a trip back through time to meet Jules Verne. What would that conversation be like? What would you ask him? What might he ask you?
- Do what Verne did in writing Paris in the 20st Century—imagine what your own city or town will look like a century from now, in the year 2122.
- Find a globe or world map. Say you have to reach a specific location, but have only the latitude (as with The Children of Captain Grant), or just the longitude. Imagine the adventures you’d have as you searched along one line.
- Imagine Verne time-travelled to 2022 and you could talk to him. What about our world would you show him first? What might fascinate him most?
- Bake a birthday cake for Jules Verne. It could depict (or be in the shape of) a balloon, a submarine, a moon projectile, or anything else from his novels.
- Compose, and sing, a birthday song for Jules Verne. For the lyrics, try to work in titles of his novels or character names.
- Dress up as your favorite Verne character.
- Write a poem in honor of Jules Verne
- Write a letter to Jules Verne, wishing him a happy birthday.
- Draw your own illustration of your favorite Verne character, vehicle, or scene.
- Many people have their own version of what the Nautilus might have looked like. Pick your favorite from this website maintained by Michael & Karen Crisafulli, and draw your own.
More Involved Activities
- Build a model of one of his vehicles. A search of the internet will give you many to choose from.
- Build and launch a balloon made from a garbage bag, safely following instructions on this site, or this one. Imagine you’re aboard it, floating high in the air, for five weeks.
- Use a 3D printer to print a Verne-inspired vehicle, or hire someone to print it for you.
- Find a suitable cave and go on your own journey to the center of the Earth, (or as close as you can get).
- Join a local model rocketry club. (Not the same as launching a manned projectile from a cannon, but it’s cheaper and safer.)
- Visit the nearest submarine museum and tour its featured submarine. Note the differences between it and the Nautilus.
Activities for the Truly Dedicated
- Jules Verne often set his stories on islands. Plan and take your own trip to an island somewhere.
- Visit Verne’s birthplace and museum in Nante, France.
- Visit Verne’s gravesite in Amiens, France.
- Make a bet with some friends about how fast you can travel around the world, then win the bet.
Later this year, the North American Jules Verne Society will have an anthology published under the title of Extraordinary Visions: Stories Inspired by Jules Verne. Among the millions of people eagerly awaiting that event are you and—
Poseidon’s Scribe
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