Creative Play: Geography

Note: This is an ongoing project. Check back for new stuff.

Geography actually covers two different fields: Physical Geography (geology, hydrology, and all the other cool ologies that define the earth and all of the features we normally associate with the art of map-making) and Cultural Geography (what we usually think of when someone mentions geography). Over the last couple of decades, with the growth of computer-based mapping, we also need to add Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to the mix.

Google Earth. We'll start with the coolest bit of geography since the introduction of National Geographic....Google Earth. If you haven't added this nifty program to your computer, take a few minutes, download, and install. While not the same as walking the streets of Paris or exploring the Faroe Islands, it is as close as you can come to "being there" without spending a fortune on tickets. For kids, it is a great way to explore the world, and for the rest of us, it is a very cheap vacation.

National Geographic. How most of us learned about the world outside of our known universe(s).

The United States Geologic Survey (USGS). For anyone interested in all things geographic and geologic... These folks are amazing. Be sure to check out their "Science in Your Backyard" pages, including the list of resources for Virginia. They also have an excellent collection of "educational resources" for K-6 and 7-12.

50 States.com. A good preliminary resource with lots of links to government websites.

Kids Geo.Com: Geography Games for Kids, Games About Our Earth.

National Geographic Bee. (National Geographic). NatGeo...oh yeah.

Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego. Probably the classic cultural geography game for kids. Copies of the game are still available from Broderbund Software. Their website includes a number of "freebee" games that can be played online; however, the game design is antiquated and is slower than molasses (even on a business speed dsl).

Geography for Kids (About.com). The About.com pages are essential links lists with brief descriptions or reviews, similar to this page. The page has some excellent resources, so rather than reinventing the wheel...

The GeoGame. (Global School Net.org). You will need to create a login/registration to use this site, but it is well worth the couple of minutes of your time. To play the game, you must have some affiliation with a school. We're checking on whether homeschoolers can use the site...no word back yet. Despite this, this site is loaded with some great resources. We recommend wandering through the site and exploring some of its nooks and crannies (do websites have crannies???).

The Fact Monster Their world geography section focus more on physical geography rather than cultural, economic, or political geography. The language is reasonably accessible and includes a pretty good, albeit short, glossary of terms. Note: the Fact Monster site covers a pretty broad range of subjects, not just geography, so you may want to take some time to explore some of the other pages.

The World Fact Book. Despite general wierdness, the CIA does produce one really good resource--The World Fact Book. The site has an amazing collection of information, maps, tools, and other "stuff." It is listed under their library pages rather than "kids stuff," but it is a site you should probably bookmark as long as your kids are taking geography classes in school. Actually their kids' pages are pretty cool too. Note: some of the games are tougher than they look. The information is grouped by age, although the language may be a bit more difficult for kids in the lower grades.

Atlapedia. Similar to the CIA's World Fact Book, but perhaps a bit more accessible, although not always as indepth. The site does include some reasonably good teacher resources...good for teachers and home schoolers.

Ocean Remote Sensing. (John Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab) Remote Sensing is the field of understanding the world thorugh remote (read satellite images). While this site isn't specifically for kids, it has a lot of very cool stuff. As my grad school office mate used to say..."way cool beans."

Road Trip Geography for Kids. (Motosport.com). Essentially a links page from what we would have thought to be an unlikely source. The folks at Motosport have built a terrific collection of physical geography sites. The site was recommended to us by one of our customers, and we are more than happy to add it to the collection. There is some great stuff on this page. (Thanks, Sam)

 

Map Collections (Very cool historical maps for all occassions and geographies)

• David Rumsey Map Collection (Start here!)
• The Perry-Castaneda Map Collection (University of Texas)
• American Memory Map Collection (Library of Congress)
• Landform Color Atlas (US States--terrific map collection).

GIS Mapping Programs and Resources for Kids (Under Construction)