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Corn Maze Geography:  Teaching Geography Using Corn Mazes

Introduction

Corn mazes are paths cut or plowed in a field of corn (maize) so that the paths form a pattern when viewed from overhead. The patterns can be famous people, maps, flags, drawings, themes, or an infinite number of other patterns. Like tracing through a maze on paper with a pencil, with a corn maze, the human being becomes the "tracer" through the maze.

Because (1) corn mazes are maps, (2) mazes and maps have fascinated people for centuries, (3) maps are essential tools to study geography, corn mazes provide a unique and fun way to learn about geography, including scale, relative and absolute location, land use, and other geographic themes.

In this document, ten lessons for teaching geography through the concept of corn mazes are described. These lessons are based on national geography content standards and are suitable for elementary through secondary level, with some lessons suitable up to university level.

Not all of the lessons require you to visit a corn maze, if you do not live near one or otherwise cannot visit a corn maze with your students.

Visit the following sites to learn about corn mazes or to locate a maze near you:

www.cornmazedir.com

www.mazeplay.com

www.cornfieldmaze.com

Links to the National Geography Content Standards.

1. How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information.  These corn maze lessons use maps and aerial photographs at several scales.

2. How to use mental maps (a person's internalized picture of a part of Earth's surface) to organize information about people places, and environments.  These lessons ask students to compare their mental maps of the corn mazes to a map that was previously made of the corn maze and a map that the students create.

3. How to analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments on Earth's surface.  

4. The physical and human characteristics of places.
These lessons ask students to think about the distribution of corn and corn mazes versus population centers, topography, and land use. 

7. The physical processes that shape the patterns of Earth's surface.
These lessons ask students to think about why corn and other crops are grown where they are, and the influence that climate and land use have on cultivation.

10. The characteristics, distribution and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics.
Students are asked to consider the influence of culture on the cultivation of corn.

11. The patterns and networks of economic interdependence.
Students examine the products made from corn and how these products are transported. 

14. How human actions modify the physical environment.

15. How physical systems affect human systems.

In these lessons, students consider how humans have modified the environment in corn cultivation, and examine topography, land use, and the influence of the land on cultivation.

16. The changes that occur in the meaning, use, distribution, and importance of resources.
Students examine the products made from corn and how these products are transported. 

18. How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future.
Students use geography to understand how to interpret maps and interpret present-day land use.

Ten Lessons for Using Corn Mazes in the Geography Curriculum

Click on any of the images below for a larger-sized image.

(1) Mazes, Corn Mazes, Shapes, and Navigation

Grades: All

First, discuss the concept of a maze with your students.

What is fascinating about a maze?

What kinds of materials--living and non-living--are human-navigated mazes constructed in?

Conduct some research at the library or on the Internet to find out.

Examine the following sites:

www.mazeplay.com

www.cornmazedir.com

www.cornfieldmaze.com

What are the most common shapes that corn mazes are in?

How is navigating through a maze like daily navigation through streets of a community? How is it different?

Before visiting a corn maze with your students, obtain a map of the maze.

Alternatively, obtain the map when the group arrives at the site.

Select equally distant locations for each student or, ideally, groups of 2 students
to find a location that is in the center of the maze or a point distant from the start.

Use watches to determine how long each group took to find the location.

Discuss: What were the challenges? What made it easy?

(2) Wayfinding and Directions

Grades: All

Before visiting a corn maze with your students, obtain a map of the maze.

Alternatively, obtain the map when the group arrives at the site.

Select and identify locations for each group of students to find.

Have each group of students write directions to the location, using relative directions such as "left," "right", "straight ahead" and so on.

Regroup. Ask the students to give their directions to another team, without that team knowing where the destination is. How easy were the directions to follow?

Repeat the above activity using cardinal directions, such as "north", "southeast", and so on. Regroup and compare the ease of using cardinal directions versus relative directions. Is there a difference? Why?

When are cardinal directions more appropriate in day-to-day living?

When are relative directions more suitable?

(3) Wayfinding Comparison

Grades: Secondary through University

If you cannot conduct a nighttime field trip as a scheduled class event, encourage the students to visit the maze at night, if possible. If that is not possible, you can still answer these questions.

Compare the difficulty of finding a selected location during the daytime versus at night.

Is wayfinding more difficult at night? Why or why not? How does the location of the sun help us in our wayfinding, besides simply providing light?

(4) Maps and Global Positioning Systems

Image from http://www.mazeplay.com

Grades: Elementary Through Secondary

How does a map or an aerial photograph of the corn maze help you in your navigating the maze? If possible, have the students walk the entire maze and then create a map of the paths.

Compare the student-created maps to the maze's official map or aerial photograph. How well did the students' maps match the site's official map? What were the challenges? What helped?

Global Positioning Systems (GPS). Discuss how GPS works.

Use GPS receivers to record waypoints as your students walk each path (or a subset that you designate, or divide the group so that the entire maze is mapped). Upload these points into a Geographic Information System (GIS). Plot these points on top of an aerial photograph or a USGS topographic map of the area. Use the procedures on: http://education.usgs.gov/common/lessons/terraserver.html to download these maps.

Print your GPS-created corn maze plot. Include the following map components along with your plot:

Title, Orientation, Date, Author, Legend, Symbols, Scale, Grid, Index, and Source.

(5) GPS Navigation

Grades: Elementary Through University

Visit a corn maze with GPS (Global Positioning Systems) units.

Ask students to navigate to predefined locations using their GPS.

Discuss the concept of a geocache and visit www.geocaching.com.

Hide geocaches for students to find using their GPS. Check with the corn maze operator first to make sure this is acceptable.

What are the challenges on finding an absolute location with a GPS that exist in a corn maze, where you are confined to certain predefined routes?

(6) Land Cover and Corn Maze Locations

Grades: Upper elementary through university.

Examine the USGS land cover map of the USA.

This map shows cropland, scrub, forests, urban areas, grassland, and other land cover types.

Examine the map key. How many land cover classifications exist on this map?

In which areas of the USA would you expect to find corn mazes? Why?

What is the influence of climate and soil on the growing of corn?

Browse the above links to corn maze locations or use additional sites.

How well do the locations match your predictions?

What are factors that influence the locations of where corn is grown?

What are factors that influence the locations of where corn mazes are constructed?

Compare the map of mazes to cities. What influences do cities have on the locations of corn mazes?

Where else in the world besides the USA is corn grown? Why can it be grown in certain places but not others?

(7) Interpreting Topographic Maps and Aerial Photographs

Grades: Upper elementary through university.

Examine a USGS topographic map and an aerial photograph of the area of your corn maze, see below for examples.

Use the procedures on:

http://education.usgs.gov/common/lessons/terraserver.html

to download topographic maps and aerial photographs, or order paper copies from:

http://ask.usgs.gov or call 1-888-ASK-USGS.

What forces shape the landscape near the corn field?

What are the dominant natural hazards in this area?

What direction does this area drain into?

What rivers does this area drain into?

What ocean does this area drain into?

Examine USGS topographic maps or a USGS national map of river systems to aid you, such as one below from:

http://nationalatlas.gov

Trace the path of rain falling on this field to the ocean, including all rivers along the way.

What is the river distance from this field to the ocean?

What is the elevation of your corn field?

Would you characterize the terrain of your field as flat, moderate, or steep?

What do you think is the maximum slope that a cornfield can be?

What constraints operate on the slope of a cornfield?

Compare the terrain constraints for corn to other crops.

What other crops are grown in this area? Why?

What percentage of the county you are in would you estimate as being cultivated for corn?

From the aerial photograph, what would you say is the dominant land use in your cornfield's region? Why?

Compare this land use to the land use based on an aerial photograph around your school.

What are the differences? Why?

Compare the cornfield's elevation to the elevation based on a topographic map of your school.

Is the cornfield higher or lower in elevation of your school? Why? What landforms are present?

How have humans modified the landscape in cultivating corn and other crops?

(8) Exploring Corn Through Mathematics

Grades: Upper elementary through university.

Examine a sample 1 square meter of corn in your field away from a path.

Count the number of ears of corn on a few stalks. Estimate the average number of ears of corn per stalk.

Estimate the number of stalks in your square meter of corn.

Examine a different square meter of corn and compare your estimates to that above.

What differences did you find, and why?

What factors influence how productive corn is?

Compute the number of stalks and ears of corn in one square kilometer of corn.

If a county had 1000 square kilometers of corn under cultivation, how many stalks and ears of corn would it harvest?

(9) Investigating Corn

Grades: Upper elementary through university.

Further examine the product that you are immersed in--corn.

What exactly is corn?

Visit sites such as these for more information.

National Corn Growers Association:

http://www.ncga.com/education/main/FAQ.html

http://www.ncga.com/03world/main/index.html

Ontario Corn Producers Association's Corn In the Classroom page:

http://www.ontariocorn.org/classroom/products.html

What is corn primarily used for?

What products that you use daily are made from corn?

What products that you use occasionally are made from corn?

How can corn be used in industry, consumer markets, and in other ways?

What parts of corn can be used?

What effect do the values of the culture influence what types of crops are grown?

What does the cultivation of corn say about the culture of the United States? What do we value?

What is the location where products made from corn are produced? Why are they located where they are?

How does the corn from your field reach the consumer? Trace the possible routes.

What transport mechanisms are in place to transport the various corn products?

(10) Investigating Soils

Grades: Secondary and university. The first two questions may be used in upper elementary.

Examine the soil under your feet in the maze. Describe the texture, color, grains, and so on.

How has cultivation affected the surface and composition of the soil?

Examine soil data for your county on:

http://www.ftw.nrcs.usda.gov/ssur_data.html

Locate your corn maze on the soil map for your county.

What soil type(s) underlie your corn maze?

What soil type(s) are best for growing corn?

How do the soil types that are best for growing corn compare to the soils that are best for other crops?

What fertilizers and pesticides are used on corn fields? Why?

What are the inherent dangers in fertilizers and pesticides?

Take a soil sample if possible to your school and conduct soil tests. Use guidelines such as:

http://www.lamotte.com/pages/edu/soil.html

Report on the results of your soil test.

Author: Dr. Joseph J. Kerski, Geographer, USGS, jjkerski @ usgs.gov