On Saturday, July 8, 2006, St. Louis WizKids held an Education and Tech Fair to inform the COVAM neighborhood about the diferent ways in which technology can benefit their families. One of the components of that event was a "GIS Day" booth.
What is GIS, you ask?
GIS stands for geographic information system; it's basically a high-tech map that can show all kinds of information about an area. If you've ever used a service like MapQuest, Yahoo!Maps, or Google Maps, that's an example. The uses of such technology don't stop there, though; this rapidly expanding technology is also used to analyze environmental issues, enhance economic development planning, and improve emergency response during disasters.
At the event, we engaged participants in individual and small-group discussions about this technology and demonstrated a free software program, Google Earth, that is to the planet what a web browser is to the Internet. It is a 3-D browser that allows you to find locations on Earth by name, plot routes between different locations, and find points of interest (restaurants, shops, parks, etc.) near a given location. We also gave a demonstration of GPS (Global Positioning System) where participants had a chance to find out exactly where they were on Earth and go out to find some hidden "treasure".
Thanks to Bob Coulter, Katie Harris, and Virginia Winters for helping to make our GIS day a success!
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