UMass Tour - Shaping Minds Mystery Cache

This cache is the second in the series of UMass Tour caches by Western_Mass_Clan and truly is a “UMass Tour”. Indeed, this cache is the flagship of the UMass Tour series!

The Minuteman & W.E.B. DuBois Tower Library

The theme of this cache is SCHOOLS, UNIVERSITIES & LIBRARIES. While I'm not going to be a stickler and require you follow the theme, you can bring related items if you wish. You can bring items related to any K-12 school, library or university - not just UMass. THE CACHE IS NOT AT THE PUBLISHED COORDINATES! They are in the middle of the UMass campus pond. The final cache location is INDOORS inside the W.E.B. DuBois Tower Library (26 floors!!!) on the UMass Amherst Campus. The cache container is a custom job, specially made for this find. You should be able to retrieve the cache easily without drawing attention to yourself. Do not randomly pull items off the shelves. The final container has a very subtly placed GeoCaching logo on its face and will be in plain sight … though disguised so that students will not recognize it for what it is. If it doesn’t have the logo, it is not the cache! This is a two-stage challenge that will take you on a short ‘walking tour’ of the campus pond area, collecting clues. Your mission is to use your GPSr to find the clues that will lead you to a clever little micro cache (Stage 1) hidden in the vicinity of the campus pond. To find Stage 1, you must visit seven locations around the pond and gather eight pieces of numeric information. You can enter these numbers into the below worksheet, which contains a calculation that will provide you with the coordinates of the Stage 1 micro. Note: The Stage 1 micro is not your typical micro container. Let’s just say it has perfect “urban camouflage” for the immediate area. It is a commercially available hide-a-key container though, and has not been modified by me. See below for a hint if required. Please replace the micro and restore its cover exactly as you found it! This is a very public area and a carelessly replaced micro can easily lead to an unecessary muggling of Stage 1. Please think of the next cacher.

Inside the Stage 1 micro is all the information you’ll need to find the final cache (Stage 2) hidden within the library. You will not need your GPSr once inside. When you are finished with the cache, please repack the container carefully and replace it on the shelf in the same spot. It is critical that you replace the final cache in the same location you found it. Do not leave the container on a table for staff to reshelve for you, despite what the signs say. This is a special area of the library, so I encourage you to enjoy the scenery while there. To start off, the cache is literally full of fun items, some of which were donated by the UMass Library staff. There is also a 'cache camera'. Smile! SPECIAL NOTES: 1) Please be respectful of the students in the library when seeking this cache. Shhhh. 2) Kids are welcome if not encouraged. 3) This is not a 24/7 cache – especially during summer session. See the UMass Amherst Library website for hours. 4) You may wish to print out the below Stage 1 Worksheet and bring along your own pencil and a calculator with you on this cache. Here is a link that contains a PDF of the worksheet for your convenience. FTF PRIZE: Campus Bookstore Gift Card - Congratulations to BerkshireHiker for capturing the FTF on this cache. Glad we could be your first FTF! Enjoy the shirt! SPECIAL FKTF (first kid(s) to find) PRIZE: An Unactivated Geocaching University Geocoin - Congratulations to BlkSqrl413 & MrsBlkSqrl and especially SqrlBoy for capturing the FKTF prize. Enjoy the coin!