Mapping Montem [Page 1] [Page 2]

This was as two day workshop at Montem Junior School in Slough, England.
The students were studying maps as part of their curriculum, so we were invited in to set about mapping the school grounds on foot with GPS.

The children adapted well to using the GPS receivers at a tool to chart the area. They identified plenty of features and were quick to dart around in the shapes and patterns of the school grounds.

Most components of the area were mapped such as the divisions for the different spaces and structures like the playing equipment and the football field.

View Montem maps_

We also used the GPS receivers to orientate ourselves in relation to other countries by navigating directly to cities like Paris and Baghdad. Once a destination has been chosen then you can be guided to that point by an arrow displayed on the screen along with your current speed and estimated time of arrival. One intrepid student set off across the field on the 5500km walk straight to New York but was stopped by the perimeter fence.

Once the speedometer on the GPS receivers was identified some were quick to developed new and faster challenges.

Above is a GPS map with all the tracks together on the school grounds.
The extra tracks of some of the surrounding roads were created on the inefficient car journeys to and from the school.