The ISU GIS Facility is hosting our second annual Mapping Masterminds Map Competition. It is open to everyone, everywhere. There are two categories for submissions: 1) Maps and 2) StoryMaps. There are cash gift cards for top prizes. Entries are due Sunday, November 17, 2024. Here is the link to the official website for more details and to submit your map: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/f5f90197f924413080353752f6f89e1e.
The ISU GIS Support and Research Facility and IowaView along with Parks Library will be hosting GIS Day 2024 on Wednesday, November 20, 2024, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. in The Catalyst at Parks Library (Room 199) at Iowa State University. This is a come-and-go event so stay as long as you would like. GIS Day is for everyone, from the GIS curious to the GIS user. There will be speakers throughout the morning sharing their research from around campus, information about GIS opportunities and programs on campus, free GIS swag, free food, and a map competition with prizes.
Next week, IowaView and the ISU GIS Facility will be hosting an Earth Observation Day celebration, on Tuesday, October 15, from 10:00 to 11:30 in Durham 206 as part of Earth Science Week 2024.
Here’s the schedule:
10:00 – 10:30 Dr. Antonio Arenas, Civil Construction & Environmental Engineering
Topic: Google Earth Engine and Open ET (Evapotranspiration)
10:30 – 11:00 Dr. Brian Gelder, Agricultural And Biosystems Engineering, ISU GIS Facility Research Lead
Topic: LiDAR Processing via ArcGIS and PDAL (a Python extension for translating point cloud data)
11:00 – 11:30 Bryce Pape – Graduate Student, Community and Regional Planning
Topic: Google Earth Engine and Agriculture Residue Cover
We will also provide snacks (a cupcake cake) and Earth Observation Day swag including booklets, posters, and trading cards. Please come and go as you need to. We look forward to seeing you there.
The ISU GIS Facility will be hosting the 3rd annual geospatial summer workshop for K-12 teachers and pre-service teachers in Ames, Iowa on July 17 – 18, 2024. This workshop will show many geospatial tools and applications from the Esri ecosystem as well as Google Earth, OpenStreetMap, AmericaView, and others. Teachers will get to see a variety of map tools and exercises that they can bring into current lessons. We will explore resources available at local, state, and national levels. Each participant will make a StoryMap to use in their classroom. Teachers can sign up for graduate or continuing education credit. Please email Amy Logan with any questions.
The Esri StoryMaps Team put together a great StoryMap, “Mapping the eclipse: A journey through darkness,” to help readers engage and discover more about this epic and unusual event.
The History of Geography Awareness Week:
Thirty-six years ago, the National Geographic Society advocated to create Geography Awareness Week. Geography Awareness Week is a way to celebrate and raise awareness of geography, both as a discipline and as a part of daily life. The National Geographic Society felt the limited exposure to geography in American education was a dangerous deficiency. Without proper exposure to geography, students are unable to make effective decisions, understand geo-spatial and geo-political issues, or even recognize their impacts as global citizens.
— see more at the National Geographic Website
To learn more about exciting careers in geography and the National Geographic MapMaker tool by visiting the National Geographic webpage: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/society/education-resources/programs/geography-awareness-week/
GIS Day is around the corner…please join us for festivities in the Parks Library in Ames, Iowa on Wednesday, November 15, 2023. For GIS Day details: https://www.gis.iastate.edu/gis-day-2023. Also if you have a StoryMap or GIS app or GIS poster or regular paper map – please enter the mapping competition. The competition is open to all, i.e. anyone else reading this, we want to see your mapping skills. 
There will be prizes! https://tinyurl.com/mappingmasterminds
In celebration of Earth Science Week (Oct. 8–14), IowaView and the ISU GIS Support and Research Facility will host an Earth Observation Geospatial Career Day from 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 10, in 206 Durham Center at Iowa State University. GIS professionals will share short presentations discussing their jobs and career paths. Students can learn more about the geographic information science (GISC) minor and GIS graduate certificate program. Lunch and refreshments will be provided. Please join us!
Here’s a great opportunity for Iowa students in grades 4-12. The Iowa Map Contest is an ArcGIS Online Story Map competition for students to tell Iowa stories. Each school can submit up to five entries. Entries are due Monday, May 8, 2023. For more information about the Iowa Map Contest, visit the contest website: https://sites.google.com/site/iowamapcontest/.
Have you ever thought about how much water it takes to make a pair of jeans? To produce a pound of corn? Or to make a car? What if you had a limited amount of water and had to decide how to “spend” your precious resource? Water: A Global Resource is an ArcGIS StoryMap, developed by Mary Schorse and Tracy DeLiberty (DelawareView), is designed to give you background on what we mean by ‘water resources.’ The lessons are also designed to stimulate your thinking about how we use, protect and monitor this precious, limited natural resource.
Resource Links:
Schorse, M. and T. DeLiberty. 2022. Water: A Global Resource StoryMap (Middle School Lessons) – https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/af7e043b7a104858a300c08ed2ead7c7
Schorse, M. and T. DeLiberty. 2022. Water: Today and for the Future StoryMap (Elementary Lessons) – https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/5940fb947ae54b06ac7a184ab42b7dbd
