MONTPELIER, Vt. -- Shhh.

Don't tell the kids.

Don't tell the kids that they just might learn something while taking part in Nordic Quest, a new program offered at participating cross-country ski areas in Vermont.

The program, developed by Ski Vermont and Cabot Creamery, and similar to a treasure hunt, is designed for children aged 8 to 12 and their families and friends. All Nordic Questers should take an adult along for safety.

Nordic Questers use cross-country skis or snowshoes to follow clues as they search for hidden Nordic Quest boxes that contain a Nordic Quest stamp. In doing so, the young snow detectives learn fun and interesting facts.

		Nordic Quest For more information on Ski Vermont's Nordic Quest program, go to the Nordic Quest section in the KidZone at www.skivermont.com. For more information on Valley Quest, go to www.vitalcommunities.org.

This season's quests were created by staff members at the Trapp Family Lodge XC Ski Center, Woodstock Ski Touring Center, Smuggler's Notch Nordic Center, Okemo Valley Nordic Center, Morse Farm Ski Touring Center, Highland Lodge and Ski Touring Center and Hazen's Notch Association.

Ski Vermont spokeswoman Heather Atwell of Montpelier in central Vermont said clues for each Nordic Quest are available to print from the Nordic Quest section of the Kidzone at www.skivermont.com. Clues also are available at the participating ski areas.

Ms. Atwell said children are encouraged to create a personalized log book to take notes on each Nordic Quest they complete. The books, which can function as diaries, also can be used to hold a special stamp the children will be looking for at the end of every quest.

Although log book starter kits are available at Ski Vermont and the participating ski areas, Ms. Atwell said a small notebook or booklet of blank paper will do just fine.

And what was the genesis of the Nordic Quest program?

It's based on the Vital Communities' Valley Quest program, an award-winning, place-based education project that uses treasure hunts to celebrate community, natural history, cultural sites, stories and special places.

And where did that regional nonprofit organization in White River Junction, Vt., get the idea for its program?

It began in England, where something known as "Letterboxing" began about 152 years ago in Dartmoor National Park, a 368-square-mile site in a southwest section of the country. A Dartmoor guide is said to have placed a bottle for visitors' cards at Cranmere Pool on the northern moor in 1854.

Now there are thousands of watertight containers, or "letterboxes," hidden throughout Dartmoor. Each one contains a visitor's book and a rubber stamp. The original idea was for walkers to leave a letter or postcard, which would then be collected and posted by the next person to visit the site.

Clues to their locations are contained in other letter boxes and on the Internet. It has become quite a sport and is especially popular with children.

But don't let on to your kids that you know any of this when you offer to accompany them on a Nordic Quest. They might consider it too educational.

Mum's the word.