Nat/Sci Zoom: Mapping the Future

Mapping the Future
Two Zoom Sessions
Mon., Sept. 9, 16, 2024, 6:30-8:30 pm MT

What makes a map good or bad? Haven’t all the maps been made? Is it still important to be able to read a printed map in our digital age? Why are maps relevant to 21st-century decision making, from issues surrounding land use, climate, energy, water, natural hazards and human health? How did modern mapping tools evolve so that we can retrieve maps on our phones, in our cars, and on our computers anytime and anywhere? Join Joseph Kerski, geographer and TED Talk speaker, as he tackles these questions and much more in this engaging course that’s all about what he calls the whys of where. In session one, Kerski explores the history of maps. “Maps have been made for thousands of years, beginning with the Babylonian clay tablets and Chinese maps on silk, through the Middle Ages on wood blocks and in the 20th century on copper plates and film,” Kerski says. Then in session two, discover how―in our own digital age―we achieved our impressive feats in mapping. And finally, enjoy a fascinating look to the future and the frontiers of mapping, including maps of the human brain, of ocean chemistry, and of the surface and subsurface of Mars. Find your true north here!

Joseph Kerski is a geographer with a focus on using geographic information systems in education. He’s past president of the National Council for Geographic Education and has given two TED Talks on geography. He holds three degrees in geography.