November 16 - 22, 2008
Celebrate Geography! Launched in 1987 by presidential proclamation, Geography Awareness Week is held the third week of each November, promoting the importance of geography education in the United States. Click here for more background on Geography Awareness Week. But you can celebrate geography year-round!
Start by exploring our weeklong guide of activities and ideas to help you experience the many facets of geography including: cultural and physical geography, geospatial technologies, and Earth's hotspots. Come back each day to take geo-tours using Google Earth, quiz your knowledge of the world, and more. Educators and Newspapers in Education Coordinators, download free activities on the Geography Action! Web site.
Next, join My Wonderful World and celebrate geography year-round. Sign up in the blue box to the right to receive a free monthly newsletter filled with games, news, and events.
In a time where the news we watch, the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the people we meet, and the decisions we make are increasingly global, we need to know the world!
Human geography features people and their activities on Earth. It explores where people live and how they got there. Human geography also examines how people interact with and shape natural environments to create unique places in distinct spaces.
Human geography includes many facets of our lives here on Earth—culture (religion, language, ethnicity), conflict, population dynamics, movement of people and goods, natural resources, land-use, economic and political systems, globalization, and international development.
Take Action:
- Explore the world's cultures virtually with National Geographic's Glimpse. (KMZ) See instructions on viewing this KMZ file in Google Earth.
- Download free activities for Newspapers in Education and the free Geography Action! Mapping the Americas toolkit for fun activities, maps, and tips for planning events in schools.
- Find ways to internationalize your school, and other geography-themed resources from the Asia Society.
- Play the Friends of World Heritage 'How Well Do You Know Your World Heritage Sites?' trivia game!
Physical geography includes the patterns and processes of Earth's natural features. Physical geography studies how environmental phenomena—climate, landscapes, soils, oceans, environmental hazards, and the distribution of plants, animals, and natural resources—change over space and time.
Take Action:
- Learn all about Earth's land, water, and atmosphere with National Geographic's Earth Science webpage.
- Help kids dig their feet into their local geography. Find a nature center near you.
- Pilot an ROV through remote underwater ecosystems with the Resilient Planet game from the JASON Project.
- Teachers: Find lesson plans, maps, activities and more with Geography Action! Oceans.
Geospatial technology involves the use of tools, like global positioning systems (GPS) and geographic information systems (GIS), to organize, analyze, and display information that is "georeferenced" or linked to specific locations.
If you've ever used Google Earth to look at your house, then you've had experience with geospatial technology. You might also have used a hand-held or car-mounted GPS device to help find your way, or seen a remotely sensed image taken by a weather satellite. Geospatial technologies help us visualize and navigate our space on Earth.
Take Action:
- Let ESRI show you how geospatial technologies are changing how we view the world, and check out a GIS Day event near you!
- Check out Google's Geo Education site, the place to go for helpful information on using Google Earth, Maps, Sky, and SketchUp in your K-12 classroom.
- Give GIS a try with My World GIS, designed for use in schools.
- Use maps to solve problems and save animals with the See GIS in Action game from Maps: Tools for Adventure.
Global hotspots are places where conflict or change—in environments, cultures, politics, climate, or population—have created new pressures and uncertainties in today's world. Geography can help us understand these challenges and why they occur. With this knowledge, we can work to reduce or solve them.
Take Action:
- Tour these Global Hotspots to learn what today's study of geography is all about. (KMZ) See instructions on viewing this KMZ file in Google Earth.
- Check out EarthPulse: A visual guide to global trends.
- Show your commitment to the planet and sign the UN Foundation Youth Climate Pledge!
Geography is something you can study, like math, science or history, but it's also a set of skills you can use in many different careers. From doctors to shipping experts, teachers to traffic consultants, a wide range of professionals all use geography in their jobs.
Take Action:
- Meet some people who have just one thing in common: geography. Take the Geography on the Job geo-tour. (KMZ) See instructions on viewing this KMZ file in Google Earth.
- Find out what a global career looks like with these international career interviews from the Asia Society.
