Category Archives: Event

Citizen Science during the Total Solar Eclipse

You might have heard by now that in just under two weeks there will be a total solar eclipse of the sun!    

2008 Solar Eclipse Diamond Ring, Credit : The Exporatorium, https://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/eclipse/eclipseimages.html

NASA is encouraging people to use this opportunity to join in a citizen science experiment to record the air temperature and surface temperatures as well as cloud cover and type at intervals before and after the totality of the eclipse. For more information about how to participate in this excellent experiment read these handouts: 1)GLOBE Solar Eclipse Instructions and Links sheet, 2)GLOBE Solar Eclipse Data Collection Worksheet, and 3)Citizen Science Solar Eclipse Handout.  Thank you to Kevin Czajkoski, from OhioView, for sharing these handouts.

Total Solar Eclipse Diagram
By Andrew Fraknoi and Dennis Schatz
From the National Science Teachers Association, http://static.nsta.org/extras/solarscience/SolarScienceInsert.pdf

Check out this map to see where you are located in relation to viewing the total eclipse.  Here in Ames, Iowa, we should see between 90-95% of the total eclipse.  

Another really cool video that I recommend checking out is from the PBS show, Steven Hawkings – Genius – in this clip the researchers are trying to create a model of the eclipse to understand how far the Earth and Moon are from the sun in the middle of the desert in Utah.  At the end of the video they use a computer model to extrapolate the whole solar system.  It is an amazing visual!  CHECK IT OUT!!!

Start Your Future Here – Part II

This post will describe the second workshop the ISU GIS Facility and IowaView hosted as part of the 2017 Iowa 4-H State Conference, “Start Your Future Here.”  The second workshop, “Start Your Open Street Map Adventure Here,” gave students a brief introduction to GIS and remote sensing as well as a short discussion of open street map and its interface. Then 4-Hers were asked to practice using the mapping interface through the TeachOSM application.  The group started by mapping a small northwest Iowa town, George.  As you will see from the screen shots, the 4-Hers made significant progress for this community, mapping over 400 buildings.  Comparing the before and after pictures, notice the large number of buildings added in the central and northeast parts of town.

George, Iowa – Before 4-H Workshop

George, Iowa – After 4-H workshop 6/29/2017

For the second activity, students worked on a project sponsored by the United States Geological Survey (USGS)’s Volcano Disaster Assistance Program (VDAP) to help map communities near active volcanoes.  the 4-Hers mapped roads, buildings, and rivers in several small communities near Mt. Galeras in Columbia as part of their emergency preparedness. According to project description, “Galeras is an active Andean stratovolcano that is located in the Narino department, near Pasto (population: 450,000 Colombians). Galeras is the most active volcano in Colombia and is known for regular eruptions, the most recent occurring in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, and 2010.” The students did a great job mapping with both projects. Between the two projects over 500 nodes were created and over 3,000 nodes were created. Hopefully these activities will lead to future mapping interest.

Start Your Future Here – Part I

Recently, the ISU GIS Facility, in partnership with AmericaView, hosted two workshops as part of the 2017 Iowa 4-H State Conference, “Start Your Future Here.”  This conference is a good opportunity for students to try something new.   This was the third year that IowaView has participated in the 4-H conference. For many 4-Hers, this was their first experience with mapping and GIS. We offered two different workshops this year. One workshop was focused on GIS and mapping using the ESRI platform and the other workshop was focused on learning to use Open Street Map for assisting with humanitarian projects.

The first workshop, “Start Your Mapping Adventure Here,” was an introduction to GIS and mapping.  During the session students were presented with the basics of GIS and creating a map.  Then 4-Hers were able to complete several hands-on project to illustrate various mapping products.  

Examples of Park Map Designs

Students used ArcGIS Online to interact with and make sense of a news article about the migration crisis from Tunisia to the Italian island of Lampedusa. They learned how to use tools in ArcGIS Online to answer question related to the article. Some of the tools they explored included the Find box to quickly navigate to places on the map, map notes to mark locations on the map, and how to change basemap imagery to reveal different facets of a place by examining topography and photography. This exercise was based on an exercise found in an ESRI teacher training: “Teaching with GIS: Introduction to Using GIS in the Classroom.”

Next participants were divided into small groups and tasked with using ArcMap desktop to create a map of a new city park which they were asked to design. Through this exercise students learned how to navigate desktop, edit and remove features and then create a map and map properties (legend, north arrow, title.)  See examples of their maps to the right. The idea for this exercise came from materials put out by the National 4-H Council as part of a 2013 National Youth Science Day: Maps and Apps Activities.  The exercise suggested having students manually create layers on paper but we wanted to infuse the activity with technology and introduce 4-Hers to ArcMap.  

Finally, we explored several Story Maps from a very basic map to a multi-media interactive map. Here are two other great Story Maps examples showing to additional styles: the spyglass and cascade.   This gave the 4-Hers exposure to another mapping medium and possibly a way to display data for school projects or 4-H projects.

To learn more about the 4-H conference, check out this link to an article from the Alliance for Iowa State: State 4-H Conference Offers Teens a Complete Iowa State Experience, 6/28/2017.    

Have you visited Earth as Art yet?

Don’t miss your chance. This is a unique opportunity to see a melding of art, science, geography, and technology here in the Ames community.  Come see some great art.  

Kids and adults can stop in to make a color wheel or model of a Landsat satellite or search the images to complete the scavenger hunt.  The exhibit is running through Sunday, February 26, 2017.

Hours:
Thursday 4-7 pm; Friday 2-5 pm; Saturday 11 am -5 pm
Sunday Feb 19 & 26, 2-5 pm

Read more about the exhibit HERE.

Earth as Art Exhibit opens!

The opening reception for the Earth as Art exhibit is on February, 2, 5-8pm. Several younger visitors were in attendance.  They created model satellites, color wheels, and searched the gallery to complete the scavenger hunt.  There was gallery talk at 6:30 pm by Brent Yantis, the LouisianaView director and the exhibit collection curator, he explained how the images were selected and shared some of his favorite images with us. 

There was a reception of crudites and cheese as well as a King Cake that was brought from Louisiana. The King Cake tasted like a cross between a glazed doughnut and a cinnamon roll, filled with chocolate and cream filling. LouisianaView and IowaView are part of the larger AmericaView, nationwide consortium for remote sensing education, research, and geospatial applications.

Please join us – Thursday, February 2, 2017

IowaView and ISU GIS Facility will be hosting an art exhibit in the Design on Main gallery in February.  It will be a unique exhibit that is a fusion of art and science – we hope that the exhibit will inspire viewers with beautiful images from around our planet and also provide a platform for education (satellite imagery, geography, earth science, physics, and art.)

The opening reception for the exhibit is on February, 2, 5-8pm. We are planning to have a gallery talk at 6:30pm by Brent Yantis, the AmericaView collection curator as well as refreshments. AmericaView is a nationwide consortium for remote sensing education, research, and geospatial applications. For additional details visit our Earth as Art exhibit page.

Don’t Forget to Register to do something Awesome (OSM)!



JOIN US THIS MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 2017 FOR the 3rd annual OSM MAPPING PARTY in Durham Center 206.

This is a fun service project.  Come meet some new people, do some good (mapping) and eat pizza!

MLK Jr. Day OSM Mapping Party Monday January, 16, 2017 from 10 am to 1pm, Durham 206 –

Please RSVP: iowamapgive@gmail.com.
Click here for more information
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How will you be celebrating this Martin Luther King Jr. Day?

“Life’s most persistent and urgent questions is: what are you doing for others?”

– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.


The ISU GIS Facility would like to invite you to spend part of your day with us.  


The ISU GIS Facility, in cooperation with IowaView, will be hosting a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service Event on January 16th, 2017 in Durham 206. The event will take place from 10am to 1pm.  Attendees will participate in a worldwide volunteer effort called Open Street Map – (OSM), a crowd-sourced map of the world that is open source, free and available for any use. OSM provides online web mapping tools for users to map roads, buildings, water bodies and features of interest using satellite imagery as a base.

Past projects have worked with humanitarian groups like the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders using OSM to coordinate mapping in areas with a critical need for new maps, past projects have included areas in western Africa fighting Ebola, hurricane affected areas in the Philippines or other emergencies or disasters around the world.

*No previous experience is necessary to participate – anyone can join us!*

If you are interested in participating in the ISU OSM Mapping Party, or have questions, please send an email to iowamapgive@gmail.com or visit https://www.iowaview.org/isu-osm-mapping-party-details/.

 

Save the date: Earth as Art Exhibit – February 2017

 

LouisianaView is loaning us their Earth as Art art exhibit for the month of February.  We are working to create a fun and educational art exhibit for all.  You will not want to miss this exciting event.  For a preview, visit Earth as Art online: http://eros.usgs.gov/imagegallery/earth-art-4.

earth-as-art-laview2