Ready to jump-start your future in Geography? In this program, students will learn foundational geographic concepts, learning how to make maps using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), GPS, and doing field work. This hands-on experience will teach students map points, lines and polygons in the field, overlay them on aerial/satellite imagery and perform data analysis.

Students will be given considerable latitude in choosing to map of something that interests them based on data from the web; including but not limited to the census, the USGS, NASA, federal/state/local government, non profits, foreign governments, news and social media. Any data is fair game, and students are expected to bring an idea of a map they’d like to make, creativity in sourcing their own data, and the initiative to help make it happen. Finally, students will write up their experience and work into a story map, and report, with publication-read maps, and easy to understand text for a general audience.