A Tucson Day Trip that lets the kids be National Geographic explorers

The television show National Geographic’s Explorer is probably one of the more exciting shows on cable. The host, Lisa Ling, takes viewers to exotic locales both above sea level and below. Do you have a little one who wants to become an Explorer in their own right? The Fairmont Resort Scottsdale is offering the opportunity this summer for the kids to do this at their National Geographic Explorer Camp.

The television show National Geographic's Explorer is probably one of the more exciting shows on cable. The host, Lisa Ling, takes viewers to exotic locales both above sea level and below. Do you have a little one who wants to become an Explorer in their own right? The Fairmont Resort Scottsdale is offering the opportunity this summer for the kids to do this at their National Geographic Explorer Camp. Begun last month and continuing on until Labor Day weekend, the

Begun last month and continuing on until Labor Day weekend, the Fairmont Scottsdale is hosting specialized camps Tuesdays through Sundays each week that last a full day or half day. The schedule changes daily so kids can take part in a number of activities. On the weekends, the camp will also host specialized speakers such as Dr. Kobe Boykins, a propulsion engineer from NASA, or Dr. Mireya Mayor, the scientist that discovered the world’s smallest primate in existence in Madagascar. Dr. Mayor is also one of the stars of National Geographic’s newest series, “Expedition: Africa”, Available at the resort’s website is a complete list of speakers.

Some of the camp activities offered will be:

Desert Discovery – children will be given the opportunity to take part in a treasure hunt complete with GPS units. Campers will have the chance to explore the grounds of the Fairmont Scottsdale, collecting clues along the way, to find camouflaged animals in the desert landscape. Tools provided are disappearing ink, magnifying glasses, measuring tape, mirrors and pedometers and the kids will learn more about the animals along the way.

Photo Safari – The campers will be introduced to point and shoot digital photography and given guided assignments. At the end of this camp, the kids will be given a CD of their photographs so they might remember their day for years to come.
Geo Bowl – Comparable to National Geography Bee, participants will be introduced to geography trivia in conjunction with stunning photography, which National Geographic is best known for.

Giant traveling maps – Each month, a gigantic map will be loaned to the resort for kids to climb on and see the regions of the world up close. The largest maps made are provided by National Geographic and can be as large as 31 feet feet wide and 41 feet long. Complete with topography, kids can learn while having fun.
There are many more activities planned, the Explorers camp is certain to engage the imagination of each child participating, enriching them in a way that’s both informative and entertaining.

Though you can certainly drop the kids off at the resort, the Fairmont Resort Scottsdale is offering a special weekend package at their location to correspond with this special program so why not take the kids to the camp while you have a romantic weekend with no kids? For more information and to print the sign up form, visit their website located here.

More information: http://www.examiner.com/x-6373-Tucson-Day-Trips-Examiner~y2009m6d27-A-Tucson-Day-Trip-that-lets-the-kids-be-National-Geographic-Explorers

Community Mapping in YOUR Community!

Here’s an introduction video to community mapping which was used to attract volunteers to the Woodbridge Township Walkability Audit!

 

Walkability! Walkability Audit for Woodbridge Township Schools!

 

Woodbridge Township Walkability Audit Map

               The Walkability Audit for Woodbridge Township schools on May 30th was a booming success! Made even more so by the full, hearty support of township leaders and scores of parents and their children. It was truly an event that not only brought community members out of their homes, but brought them together as a community. Even more amazing were the small grade school children who were volunteering and giving back to their community with enthusiasm! It really comes to show that volunteerism is not limited to any age! Data collected during the audit has been showcased through an interactive map that shows how each area was accessed in terms of proper crosswalks, sidewalks, and traffic regulations.

Check out a cool video of the audit!

The Girl in the Green Sweater: A Life in Holocaust’s Shadow

Interactive Mapping by Vertices has been adopting a more historical tone as of late. The project to map the survival of a Holocaust survior is a new addition to recent line of projects whose aim is to educate  individuals on a past that seems to be fading away into oblivion. 

The historical account by Krystyna Chige The Girl in the Green Sweater: A Life in Holocaust’s Shadow is at the core of the project. It is a telling narrative by a precocious child clinging onto a thread of hope, despite the most dismal, black conditions. Despite finding an unlikely haven in Lvov sewers, Chige forges friendship and survives to share her riveting, powerful story with the public. In order to spread her story, GIS is mapping her journey to get web-surfers into history in a new way!

IM HISTORIES!

Hello everyone! It’s been a while since I posted on this blog, but I’m back!

There is a new project I am looking forward to which aims at bridging the past with the present by getting our senior citizens to provide primary accounts of a community’s history (about the school, the neighborhood, the lifestyle, the people…)!

The project I’m spazzing about will focus on the history of West Windsor Plainsboro–my home town! Every town is rich with its own history, and its a pity how little community members know about where they live in or have lived in for 5-10+ years! 

This project will hopefully reconnect the old voices with the new so that community members learn to value every-day things around them and become more appreciative of where they live in. (Plus, we’re using youtube videos~!)

This project is also an “IM”! and Interactive Mapping project!

To find out more, visit the website: www.imhistories.com

I’ll write more about it when the project is finished!

 

-joanneim

Keeping an online, interactive information book

Okay.

So the phonebook went online, as www.whitepages.com or www.yellowpages.com what else could possibly happen?

You could Mapplerize it! For an example, take a hospital that decides they want to go online with their phone/address/information book. Mappler lets them map the residence of staff members, surgeons, nurses with each data point containinga staff member’s phone number, and related information. It’s a clean way of orgainzing data, and since it is online, it can be accessed by whoevery you want it to be accessed by!

Maptastic! (Please don’t try to look this up, you won’t find it in the dictionary.)

It’s a Grind

Last Saturday, 12 high school students (10 from High School South and 2 from High School North) and 4 adults crammed into the It’s A Grind near Plainsboro Plaza. Except they weren’t having a coffee house for reading poetry, they were training to collect data in a Walkability Assessment for Plainsboro. Students learned terms like “curb cut”, “flush” and not only learned the elements of a perfect intersection, but also, became aquainted with the process of investigation.

-Susan & Joanne Im

Walkability!

In another chance to help out their community, WW-P students have launched a new project to improve Walkability and Bikability in their township, which would encourage an increase in conversions of transportation from gas guzzling automobiles to enviro-friendly bikes and sneakers. The “Walkability Assessment” will map various intersections around the community in need of improvements. Each data point will include final scores and rankings of each crossing and intersections and photographs of missing elements. This project not only brings the community to aid in environment-improving efforts, but also, the data collected from this assessment will greatly improve the township’s decision making when considering road repairs to be made. Initially begun by the West Windsor Bicycle & Pedestrian Alliance (view at: http://maps.gismap.us/wwbpa), South’s Green CmPs is pursuing this project with a data collection date of May 16, 2009 at 9 a.m. They are looking for volunteers to help them so mark your calendars! (Prior to the event, volunteers will be required to participate in a one-hour training session.)

For more information, visit their project web site at http://sites.google.com/site/greencommunitymapping2009/index.

Bernards County Incorporates Mappler into School Curriculum

In an innovative project, the Science and Social Studies department in Bernards Township banded together to monitor deer populations. With the heavy involvement of students, the project boasts more than a hundred data points and shows promise in educating others in the “impact of geography on a particular culture” (http://www.communitymap.net/deer/bernards/). Each data point may contain deer-related accidents, movement of dear families, hunting and food supply. Students are expected to learn more about the scientific process as well as technological tools available to them.

Using Mappler to Showcase Research

Nowadays, most things have gone online and high tech. With Mappler, dreary, research papers may now be presented with a twist! (okay, so maybe you can only do this if the paper in question is related to location…)

Mappler allows users to map a point online and input data for a certain location in a proffessional manner.  Enviornmentalists may find Mappler a particularly useful tool for presenting data obtained from water sample analysis from various points along a river, or for tracking negative or positive changes  in the environment of a specific area.

Because Mappler allows various individuals to contribute to one site, it also helps that a project started by one die-hard environmentalist can be carried on and supplemented by others miles away~! Rather than a schizophrenic collection of numerous papers dealing on the same project carried in different areas, Mappler allows individuals to create one final, organized presentaiton of their data!

For a wonderful example, check out: http://www.communitymap.net/chatham/

-Joanne I.