Geographic Awareness Week
(GAW)
"Igniting the Spirit of Exploration"
2019 Schedule of Events
November 10-16
Each year, over 100,000 Americans actively participate in Geography Awareness Week. Established by Presidential proclamation over 30 years ago, this annual public awareness program organized by National Geographic Education Programs (NGEP) encourages citizens young and old to think and learn about the interconnectedness of our world.
This year we hope to
Ignite the Spirit of Exploration
with events tied to the 5 themes of Geography.
Scheduled Events
Monday (11/11) - Place
Travelogue Series Presentation
by Ms. Marcella Marez
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Tomanek Hall 106
“A Flood, Poisonous Gas, Marble Thieves, Lego Construction, and Secrets of Italy and Greece”
Join us to learn more about travel and exploration of Italy and Greece. This presentation will discuss faculty led student exploration of the great flood of Florence, Pompeii, Rome Coliseum, the Acropolis, Santorini and Mykonos. Images and information presented will be from previous trips to this region of the world. Also discussed will be future travel plans back to this region.
Tuesday (11/12) - Human-Environment Interaction
Population Guessing & Trivia 11:00 pm - 1:00 pm FHSU Memorial Union
Stop by the Geography Awareness Table in the FHSU Memorial Union to participate in our population guessing challenge or answer trivia questions with a geography theme. Test your population and geography knowledge, support the Geosciences Club, and maybe win a prize!
Wednesday (11/13) - GIS Day
Curious about Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and want to know (or share) how the daily applications of GIS may be impacting you? GIS Day @FHSUGeo is part of a nationwide event to promote awareness of GIS and how we all use this evolving tool to analyze our world.
GIS Lab Open House
9:00 am - 12:00 pm Tomanek Hall 121
Plan to visit the GIS Lab, Tomanek Hall 121, to view a short presentation on GIS. This is an excellent opportunity to explore the technology and applications of GIS.
Lunch with Guest Speakers
11:30 pm - 12:30 pm Tomanek Hall 227
Celebrate GIS Day with a slice of pizza and the opportunity to visit with GIS Day Guest Speakers. RSVP to geosciences@fhsu.edu.
The Basics of GIS
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm Tomanek Hall 121
Stop by the GIS Lab for a public session on an introduction to GIS. What is it? What can it do? How does it apply to me? Anyone welcome to stop by, check out the lab, and participate in the public session.
GIS Day Special Applications Presentations
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Tomanek Hall 108
In celebration of GIS Day, we have three special guest speakers joining us to talk about various aspects of applications of Geographic Information Systems from a student perspective. This will be a very interesting and engaging presentation as select current geosciences graduate students expand on experiences attending an international conference, applying GIS and remote sensing technologies to thesis work, and exploring the great state of Alaska.
Thursday (11/14) - Movement & Location
Birthdates Conversion Challenge Week-long virtual challenge
Thursday is the day to submit your results of this challenge. For instructions and details on the challenge check out the attached Birthdate Conversion Challenge pdf (available Nov. 11). Challenge is open to anyone!
We challenge you to not only have fun with this but also to submit your birthdate coordinate geographic region via this form to be entered into a drawing for prizes. Individual submissions will be entered into a drawing for a few small prizes. The Kansas Geographic Alliance is sponsoring a drawing for a classroom treat prize for Elementary, Middle, and High School Teachers who submit a class entry too!
Friday (11/115) - Region
Clocks of the World Visual Challenge
Stop by the FHSU Department of Geosciences main office, Tomanek Hall 233 to check out our display of clocks set to time zones around the world. Challenge yourself to see if you can identify all the time zones on display!
Week Long Events
Chalkboard Chat Tomanek Hall, 2nd Floor Elevator Lobby
Visit the Department of Geosciences in Tomanek Hall to check the blackboard every day this week to give your input on related topics.
Photography Contest
We are changing up our photography contest this year, instead of multiple categories we are asking you to be creative by submitting photographs that you think illustrate this year's Earth Sciences theme "Geosciences is for Everyone" or Geography Awareness Week theme "Igniting the Spirit of Exploration". These categories are open to your interpretation, please provide a detailed description of your interpretation when submitting your photograph(s). Winners will be selected for first place in each category. Photography Contest is open to anyone. Deadline to submit an entry is Nov. 15th. Visit the photography contest entry page for contest information and to submit entries.
Geoguessr Contest
Ever wonder what different parts of the world looked like? The Department of Geosciences would like to invite you to practice your observation and analysis skills while virtually exploring the world through the online game Geoguessr. No competition this year, just a fun activity we want to share with you. Of course if you want to share your fun with us feel free to share your adventures on one of our social media platforms!
Geoguessr is an online game that drops you off anywhere in the world. You then have to figure out where in the world you are by virtually investigating the area and collecting visual clues to your location. When you think you know where you are take a guess on the map, the closer your guess is to the actual location the more points you can earn. Each game has 5 different locations for you to explore and earn potential points.
How to play:
- Go to https://geoguessr.com/
- Click Single Player
- Navigate along the roads, look at the terrain, check out road signs or billboards, evaluate the landscape and architecture.
- When you think you have collected enough clues, make a guess on the map. Earn points!
- Play, explore, practice, and print/capture your high score to be shared with us if you want! Not in Hays, thats okay, we still want you to play...screen capture your score and share on
- Facebook 'Geosciences at FHSU'
- Twitter @GeoFHSU
- SnapChat 'FHSUgeosciences'
Other International Themed activities
International Education Week
The FHSU International Student Services Office is hosting several exciting international themed activities that may also be of interest to you. Check out the FHSU International Programs & Events page for this year's activities.
Further Readings and Additional Activities
Kansas Geographic Alliance Geography Awareness Week (GAW) website - This webpage offers news, reading, maps, lessons, and presentations aimed to help increase awareness of geography and help you celebrate this year's theme.
To find out more about National Geographic Awareness Week and to find additional resources visit
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/education/programs/geography-awareness-week