Geography Goes to the movies
As Geography Awareness Week wraps up, you might want to relax and unwind by watching a movie from the National Geographic recommended movie list: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/geography-goes-movies/
As Geography Awareness Week wraps up, you might want to relax and unwind by watching a movie from the National Geographic recommended movie list: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/geography-goes-movies/
Today we will be joining Joseph Kerski, a Geographer and GIS education enthusiast, exploring Weird Earth: Exploring the Earth with Interesting, Bizarre, and Odd Imagery. Joseph provides a narrated video on Youtube (primarily targeted at educators) but you can also explore these fascinating places on your own using this ArcGIS Online map. Thank you, Joseph, for taking us to new places and uncover hidden gems on our planet!
OpenStreetMap is a publicly editable map of the world. It’s is often referred to as Wikipedia for maps. Anyone can sign up for an account and begin adding to the map. Edits to the map are reviewed and validated by other members of the community.
In 2010, OpenStreetMap was used as a humanitarian disaster relief tool after an earthquake in Haiti. Volunteers from across the world mapped buildings and roads from satellite imagery in areas that been damaged by the earthquake. Then teams on the ground were able to use that information to assess damage and begin recovery efforts.
Since that time the use of Humanitarian OpenStreetMap has spread around the globe helping in disaster response as well as disaster prevention and many other humanitarian efforts. We encourage you to take time during Geography Awareness Week to volunteer your time and talent to help with some of the following projects:
Suggested International Projects:
Public Lab Mongolia – https://tasks.hotosm.org/projects/9560/
Public Lab Mongolia (PLM), a local non-governmental organization in Mongolia, is leading the Mongolian chapter for volunteer mappers through the HOTmicrogrant COVID-19 project, as part of their mission to promote open data and disaster preparedness. This mapping will also help with COVID-19 response efforts. This project is to map Ulaanbaatar capital city of Mongolia, is organized by PLM in collaboration with the Mongolian Geo-spatial Association and local universities.
Hurricane Eta – Nicaragua – https://tasks.hotosm.org/projects/9765
Hurricane Eta brought wind, rain and storm surge to the coast of Nicaragua. This project is to finish the basemap of Bilwi (Puerto Cabezas) by digitizing buildings from MAXAR imagery. Available to beginners, there may be tricky tasks in this project as some areas have been partially mapped with older imagery and vegetation can often hide parts of structures. Maker sure to review the instructions for tips on how to overcome these challenges and provide high quality data.
Explore your own project: https://tasks.hotosm.org/explore
Let’s kick off Geography Awareness Week with some trivia:
https://treasurehunts.storymaps.esri.com/pioneers/. Test your knowledge of some of the pioneers of geography and GIS. Good luck! Learn something new!
Join us this week, November 15-21, 2020, as we celebrate Geography Awareness Week. Throughout we will be posting various activities and videos from our friends at OpenStreetMap, National Geographic, and Esri to help you get engage and get informed.
As a way to celebrate GIS Day and OpenStreetMap, we are encouraging everyone to go online either during this week or on GIS Day and contribute to the OpenStreetMap basemap. If you are interested and would like more information about how to get started, please email, Amy Logan.
If this is your first time using OpenStreetMap, sign up for an OpenStreetMap account: https://www.openstreetmap.org/user/new. Then look over this helpful resource from TeachOSM about how to get started and build proficiency with OpenStreetMap: (https://ubique.americangeo.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/2_buildings_worksheet_1-2.pdf)
ESRI has put together a fun Halloween themed Geography Treasure Hunt that uses their story map technology to test your halloween trivia and world geography knowledge. Good luck.
Another exciting Halloween opportunity for those in the Ames area is Reiman Gardens Spirits in the Gardens event. Participants will enjoy walking through a garden path of hundreds of beautifully carved pumpkins. It is a ticketed event, registration information here. IowaView staff member, Amy Logan, will be at the event on Sunday, November 1st from 5-7pm, discussing remote sensing and GIS and handing out goodie bags of Earthshot trading cards while supplies last.
Mappy Halloween!
VirginiaView, in partnership with Virginia Tech and other partners, recently published a new video tutorial series called “Working with Lidar Using ArcGIS Pro”. This resource is appropriate for 2-year and 4-year college faculty who would like to integrate additional online (and self-paced) educational resources with their courses.
Previous tutorial topics have also been popular with geospatial professionals who are seeking a cost effective and self-paced opportunity to sharpen their geospatial skills. The new tutorial series (and other topics listed below) might be appropriate for professionals working with local/regional/state/federal governments, as well as in the private sector.
The following geospatial video tutorials are available at no cost, and can be accessed via http://www.virginiaview.net/videos
– New! Working with Lidar Using ArcGIS Pro (14 videos)
– Remote Sensing with ArcGIS Pro (28 videos)
– Remote Sensing with ArcMap (30 videos)
– Using Lidar in ArcGIS Desktop (13 videos)
– Drones: Mastering the Aeronautical Charts (6 videos)
Today we finishing out Earth Science Week by celebrating International Archaeology Day.
Consider exploring with archaeologists in field by touring at their dig sites at locations such as Pompeii, Italy or Achill Island, Ireland.
Participate in the ArchaeoDoodles Contest by choosing one of 15 archaeological terms and create a graphic or doodle based on the term
Visit the Earth Science Week website for additional activities and resources.
Today we celebrate that the geosciences are for everyone.
Below are links to organizations focused on encouraging all people to get involved in the geosciences.
American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES)
Association for Women Geoscientists (AWG)
Earth Science Women’s Network (ESWN)
International Association for Geoscience Diversity (IAGD)
National Association of Black Geoscientists (NABG)
National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals (NOGLSTP)
Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS)
Today we are celebrating National Fossil Day!
Check out this cool coloring book as well as bonus pages. Learn about ancient plants and creatures as you color your way through this booklet. What is your favorite creature?
Have you ever been fossil hunting? If you are interested in collecting fossils, you should plan an adventure to the Fossil and Prairie Park Preserve in Rockford, Iowa. It gives you a chance to find your own fossils.
Did you know that Iowa is only one of a handful of state’s that doesn’t have a state fossil? There is currently a proposal for the Crinoid to become Iowa’s State Fossil. Crinoids are a class of animals called echinoderms that first appears on the earth about 500 million years ago. They have two form, sea lilies (stalked form attached to the sea floor) and feather stars (free-living.) Learn more about the Crinoid at the Cedar Valley Rocks and Mineral Society website.