Almost 500 Grade 7 and 8 students in Grey and Bruce counties participated in the annual GIS StoryMap contest.
The purpose of the day is to celebrate the power of GIS (geographic information system), according to Bruce County. It gives students the opportunity to explore potential career paths ahead of high school.
"A StoryMap is an interactive, digital experience," said Jack Van Dorp, Director of Planning and Development with Bruce County. "It places stories in a physical context. So they have maps with multimedia text, scenes, and they're really easy to share."
The students worked in groups, each with a question that guided their project.
"This gives them some cartography skills, as well as skills working in the ArcGIS system," said Van Dorp. "They are learning the concept of layering maps and how information can be attached to different features in the maps. They also gain some teamwork and time management skills and experience."
He said GIS is used every day for municipalities for asset management for the maps used for every day navigation.
More information is available here and to see the finished projects, click here.
