National Geographic has announced a new contest for teachers and classrooms. Your class picks a theme to save water, energy or make less waste. Then you take action and do a proposal to help change your school. All the details are right here on the official website. There’s an online entry form for teachers, and the deadline is December 3, 2010. Click here for the prizes.

What a great idea!

Through the National Council for Geographic Education, I participated in an interesting webinar today hosted by ESRI, the company that makes GIS Software essentially to educate the world about the world. The session today was presented by my friend, Dr. Joseph Kerski (Click here to read my interview with Dr. K) and by Professor Carol Gerhmehl.

This photo is in the Public Domain

Today’s lesson was about the building of the Erie Canal across the state of NY in the 1800s. I certainly learned a great deal, and what made this lesson crystal clear was the fact that I was able to see the GIS software in use as I listened to the lecture. You’ve really got to observe a demonstration of ESRI’s software programs, if you haven’t already. You can view layers of information that paper maps simply cannot offer. This is by far the best way to teach children (and adults) about many aspects of geography.

Back to the Erie Canal. . . Did you know that Philadelphia was the largest port in US prior to 1820 and that New York was not the largest city in the US until 1830?  Neither did I! Before the 363-mile Erie Canal was completed in 1825, water transport from New York west to Ohio was challenging, time consuming and expensive due to the mountainous barrier. Boats had to be small enough to be lifted out of the water in places. (Click here to read an article about transport before the canal.) The Erie canal, connecting the Hudson River to Lake Erie, essentially reduced the cost of transporting goods from $100 per ton to about $10 per ton. As far as time savings, the canal reduced the route between New York City and Buffalo from 20 days to only 8! In 1862 the canal was widened to provide even better transportation services.

Learning this today made me realize the many things we take for granted. Building a 363-mile canal in the early 1800’s must have been quite an ordeal. I simply cannot imagine what life would be like if it hadn’t been built. Thanks to today’s lesson, I have a new appreciation for this important man-made, American waterway.

Read more on the Erie Canal website.

Learn more about GIS Software from ESRI here.

Learn more about joining the National Council for Geographic Education here so you too can educate yourself and your children about the world.

In March, I wrote about Children Map the World Volume 1. Now a new book in this amazing series has been published, Children Map the World Volume 2. Thanks to my good friend and geographer Dr. Joseph Kerski, from ESRI, I have a shiny new copy of this book. Naturally, I cannot put it down.

Children from ages 4-15 were invited to draw maps of the world for the Barbara Petchnik Children’s World Map Competition. It’s all part of introducing youngsters to the wonderful world of cartography. The creativity and talents of the children from all over the world will astound and delight you. Get this book today! You can order it from ESRI. I cannot think of a better gift for a teacher, librarian, environmentalist, world traveler or child.

ISBN: 9781589482463    2009   144 pages   $29.95

Thank you, Dr. Kerski for sharing this with me!

Click here to read my article about San Juan’s incredible Del Morro Castle, on the Wandering Educators website.

Geography is Anything But Boring!

Have you ever thought about where our basic food comes from? Have your kids ever asked you about it? Just about every time I go to the grocery store, I think about how grateful I am for our farmers who grow all this stuff we eat – the wonderful abundance of fruit, veggies and grains (especially organic!) we have to choose from. I think we all take for granted the work others do to make sure we have healthy food to eat! I grow a few tomato plants in buckets every year and know how much works goes into that. So I can surely appreciate what it takes to feed the world!

One great way to explore the world with your kids is to learn about crop production. The US Department of Agriculture offers some great tables that list crop production from countries all around the world.

http://www.cksinfo.com

I learned some interesting things:

• The US produces the most corn, but India produces a lot more cotton than we do.
• India produces about 66% more rice than China.
• There is a lot of peanut production in the nations of Sub Sahara Africa.
• The US leads the world in soybean production.
• Russia produces more wheat than the US, but India produces more than Russia.

If you look at the data with your children, talk about the reasons different countries grow more of  a crop than other countries do. (Climate, population, land size). Discuss how we all help each other out by supplying food to other nations.

With Thanksgiving just one week away, this is a great time for us all to be thankful for our food!

Geography is not only about knowing where places are on a map. It’s also about people and their cultures, weather, distance, nature and more. Here are four fascinating primitive cultures for you to explore:

• The Dani of Irian Jaya
• The Yanmami of the Amazon
• The Tasaday of the Phillipines
• Australian Aborigines

Australia Aboriginal Flags

http://webclipart.about.com

Quick! Look at a map of the USA. Can you immediately find:

http://free-stock-photos.com

1. Lake Huron
2. Washington DC
3. The Missouri River
4. 3 states that are home to Yellowstone National Park
5. New York City
6. Lake Okeechobee
7. Lake Tahoe
8. The Grand Canyon
9. Mount Rushmore
10. 4 states containing Rocky Mountain National Park

Click here to read an interesting article by my expert Geographer friend, Dr. Joseph Kerski. Mapping and Analyzing our Changing World. No one knows more about mapping software than Dr. K! If you are unfamiliar with the educational mapping software available today, you have no idea what you are missing! It is fascinating and so incredibly educational.

Me & Dr. Kerski at the NCGE National Conference in San Juan

Now is the time to improve your geography literacy and encourage those around you as well! This year’s National Geography Awareness Week Theme is:

“Get Lost in Mapping: Find Your Place in the World”

http://www.nationsonline.org

Here’s what you should do right now:

• Read about the National Geography Society’s Giant Traveling Map Project, if you haven’t already. Here’s my interview with Dan Beaupré, Director of Educational Partnerships at NGS.
• Read about the Green Schools Alliance Climate Quilt Campaign. Children around the world are invited to make a patch for a quilt pledging their promise to do their part to help save the planet. In addition to learning about the global environment, this project also teaches geography.
• Go to MyWonderfulWorld.org to sign up for updates on Geography Awareness Week, Expedition Week and for a ton more info about geography!
• Talk to your child’s teachers and school principal about the importance of Geography Education!!

More than half of young Americans are unable to find New York on a map. Read 2006 Roper Survey Here.

Let’s change that now!

Get Ready!!!  Geography Awareness Week is coming up on November 15, 2009. Read all about it.

Whether you are a parent, teacher, librarian, student or just a curious person, do all you can to promote your own geography literacy as well as that of the children in your life. Here are 5 ways you can get ready to take action on November 15 . . .

http://www.webweaver.nu

1. Enter a geography-related contest
2. Slap a map of the world on your wall and start studying it!
3. Pick a place in the world you are unfamiliar with and learn all you can about it.
4. Talk to the administrators in your child’s school about adding more geography curriculum.
5. Learn the history of your hometown and state. You’ll be surprised to discover what you don’t know!

One great way to teach your kids about geography is to look up the weather in cities around the world and then find those cities on a map. It’s fun!

For Tuesday, October 27th at 7pm EST, the temperatures F are:

http://classroomclipart.com

• Astana, Kazakstan – 1 degree, clear
• Baghdad, Iraq – 55 degrees, clear
• Beijing, China – 50 degrees, foggy
• Cairo, Egypt – 75 degrees, clear
• Calgary, Canada – 36 degrees, partly sunny
• Havana, Cuba – 86 degrees, passing clouds
• Helsinki, Finland – 43 degrees, mostly clouds
• Hong Kong – 75 degrees, passing clouds
• Honolulu, HI – 75 degrees, sunny
• Istanbul, Turkey – 63 degrees, partly cloudy
• London, England – 57 degrees, clear
• Manila, Phillipines -  77 degrees, scattered clouds
• Miami, FL – 84 degrees, clear
• Murmansk, Russia – 32 degrees, foggy
• New York, NY – 55 degrees, foggy
• Panama, Panama – 84 degrees, thunderstorms
• Paris, France – 46 degrees, clear
• Prague, Czech Republic – 48 degrees, passing clouds
• Rapid City – 46 degrees, cloudy
• Seoul, Korea – 45 degrees, foggy
• Tokyo, Japan – 61 degrees, partly sunny

Data from http://www.timeanddate.com/weather