GIS Day 2001 Report

Author:        Joseph Kerski, Geographer, USGS

The USGS Rocky Mountain Mapping Center in Denver, Colorado, conducted workshops on GIS, mapping, and satellite imagery, and conducted tours of our facility, for approximately 100 middle and high school students, plus a dozen university and government data users during GIS Day, on 14 November 2001.

GIS Day is a grassroots event that formalizes the practice of geographic information systems (GIS) users and vendors of opening their doors to schools, businesses, and the general public to showcase real-world applications of this important technology. The event is principally sponsored by the National Geographic Society, the Association of American Geographers, University Consortium for Geographic Information Science, the United States Geological Survey, The Library of Congress, Sun Microsystems, and ESRI.

Montbello High School and Cresthill Middle School students arrive for tours of the USGS Rocky Mountain Mapping Center.  We distributed flyers on the USGS and our web pages and on GIS Day to the students, and distributed teachers materials for the instructors.

   

The students’ attitude upon entering the workshop was nonchalance.  But by the end of each workshop, students were asking about our web pages and asking about how they could obtain the GIS software we demonstrated.

This is the third year that GIS Day has occurred, and we have participated during all three years.  In 2000, thousands of organizations hosted GIS Day events in more than 81 different countries. Through the combined efforts of each GIS Day, millions of children and adults were educated about GIS technology and methods.

The note I posted on www.gisday.com in May 2001 read as follows:

 

Students at the benchmark at the boundary of the 7.5-minute quadrangle between Morrison and Fort Logan.  We discussed benchmarks, triangulation, GPS, map accuracy, and surveying inside during the workshops.  The geodetic team surveyed and established the point, and the education team coordinated the painting.

Posters and display that we set up for Geography Action Week (on the topic of rivers) and for GIS Day.   Participants were given tours of map sales, distribution, and the visitors center, and a workshop in geography, GIS, satellite image interpretation, and topographic map interpretation.

 

Cresthill Middle School students examine Landsat satellite images of Denver.

Ken Gerson and Gene Jackson demonstrate the type of USGS maps we make, how we make them, and why we make them. 

Students pose at USGS Map Sales with GIS Day banner.

Joseph Kerski works with students examining USGS digital and analog data.  Once in a while, we are able to catch a glimpse of the effectiveness of our educational efforts.  On GIS Day, we had the privilege of hosting a student who decided to major in geography at the University of Colorado-Denver.  Last year, the student’s high school teacher was Rick Gindele at Smoky Hill High School.  The USGS has been involved in GIS implementation and geography education with Mr. Gindele and Smoky Hill High School for over 7 years!

Students at workshop were given GIS Day and USGS prizes for answering questions, such as posters, buttons, pencils, and Landsat image cards.

Students found the benchmark in the rotunda without any prompting, after we discussed benchmarks in the workshop.

 

Having lunch at the USGS!

Students departing for Douglas County.

Goodbye!  We hope you had a great day here at the USGS and that we made a difference in your lives.

Acknowledgements

 Knowing how busy everyone is, I truly appreciated the time and efforts of USGS staffpersons Sherry Durst, Richard Shields, Gene Jackson, Richard Jimenez, Ken Gerson, Carol Mladinich, and Diane Stephens.  I am sure there were others who were also involved behind the scenes with making this a success, and I thank them as well.  I thank the students for their attention and participation.