Kids from Kindergarten to 12th grade gathered at this year's GIS Kids Camp to learn about GIS with hands-on activities and presentations based on the theme Galactic Information Systems.

The camp focused on exploration of Mars, and a highlight of the event was the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) staff bringing a model of a Mars rover in for display and discussion. Kids Camp is organized by grade levels, so the JPL team talked with kids in the 5-8 and 9-12 groups about the rover, projects on Mars, and the future of GIS in space exploration.

 

Valles Marineris, close to the Martian Equator, the site of the famous "canals" of the Red Planet, which were popularized by the American astronomer Percival Lowell. In the center of the view is the winding Kasei Valles, which could have been shaped by flowing water.

Other grade level groups were K-1 and 2-4. For each group, ESRI staff presented "This is GIS" adjusted to each grade level. The presentation subject matter ranged from "what is a map" and "how computers make maps" for kindergarteners and first graders to GIS analysis, data, and layers and attribute tables for high-school aged students.

Kids worked with ArcGIS Desktop, ArcGIS Explorer, and ArcGlobe software, except for the Kindergartners and first graders who worked with a custom mapping application. Second graders and up made maps that were posted outside the Map Gallery in the SDCC.