Thanks to our volunteers for making the GEOINT 2011 GeoHunt a success!

highlights from the event

More than 50 students from local San Antonio elementary schools on Sunday, Oct. 16 had the rare opportunity to learn about geospatial intelligence from experts during an interactive, educational exploration, similar to a scavenger hunt, held downtown.

As a part of the GEOINT 2011 Symposium, the United Sates Geospatial Intelligence Foundation’s (USGIF) Young Professions Group (YPG) hosted its second GeoHunt service project. Young Professional volunteers from various USGIF member organizations taught students from San Antonio’s Austin Academy and Pershing Elementary schools about the fundamental skills of GEOINT.

“With all of the excitement currently surrounding the YPG, I’m proud to have seen this project grow from an idea brought up in a YPG Working Group meeting to an actual program the YPG can take with them across the country,” said Keith Masback, USGIF President. “GeoHunt gives us a chance to give back to communities throughout the country and it’s also very rewarding for our volunteers to see the children’s enthusiasm about what they do on a daily basis.”

Using an Android-based tablet and a digital map of downtown San Antonio, 10 teams of kids, ranging mostly from fifth to sixth grade, paired up with Young Professional volunteers. The teams set off to find different pinpoints on the map that corresponded to well-known locations in the local area. Each pinpoint included a clue that kids worked together, with the help of the volunteers, to find the answers to and point them to their next destination.

After each team completed 10-15 questions, the entire group met back at the GeoHunt home base on Alamo Plaza for lunch and conversation with their YPG team leaders. The elementary students were able to ask about the maps they used during the hunt, the information that goes into them, and the YPG Volunteers got to share their knowledge about the science and technology that goes into turning geography in geospatial intelligence.

The purpose of having GeoHunt during the GEOINT 2011 Symposium was to not only give an overview of maps and geospatial intelligence to kids who may not have learned about this otherwise, but to also leave a GEOINT Symposium host city a little better than before we arrived. Through the GeoHunt service project in San Antonio, kids were exposed to new technologies, basic mapping principles and learned more about the city they live in.

GeoHunt is an educational exploration service project, similar to geocaching, that introduces children to the elements and power of GEOINT in hopes of getting them excited about a future in geospatial intelligence. Developed by the USGIF Young Professionals Group, the experience from this project benefits the GEOINT Community by engaging children in geospatial technologies at a young age. As the YPG further develops this project, the group plans to customize the project for various locations throughout the country.

See photos from the event

photos from the Aug. 19 GeoHunt

Did you know it would take 4,022 Washington Monuments stacked on top of one another to reach the height of a satellite? If not, then you probably missed out on Friday’s GeoHunt. With great weather and a lot of excited kids, Friday’s first ever YPG GeoHunt Service Project proved to be hugely successful in promoting and supporting the future of the tradecraft. Roughly 20 YPG volunteers from USGIF member organizations GeoEye, RadiantBlue, SI Organization and Skybox Imaging taught 20 children from the Greater Washington Boys and Girls Club about the basic principles of geospatial intelligence and its importance.

Kids arrived at the National Mall and were separated into groups with YPG volunteers and chaperones. Using Android-based tablets, YPG volunteers coached kids on how to use satellite imagery and a map overlay to navigate around the Mall. YPG volunteers built into a Google Earth viewer pinpoints that contained questions that could only be solved by visiting the physical location. In order to move from one pinpoint to the next location, groups had to use the map, their surroundings and each other to discover the answers. Kids emailed their answers back to a GeoHunt home base by using Google Chat. In addition to establishing a basic understanding of GEOINT, the activity also gave kids the chance to use cool technologies like Google Maps and Google Chat.

After each group returned to the home base and had a picnic lunch, YPG volunteers spoke with kids about GEOINT and explained what they learned today is important and what they could do with GEOINT in the future. Kids were eager to put their questions to YPG volunteers, asking questions like what happens to a satellite after it dies and how the Earth was created. This opened the door for YPGs to converse about their careers and how they use skills like those from GeoHunt every day.

GeoHunt is an educational exploration, similar to geocaching, that introduces children to elements and power of GEOINT in hopes of getting them excited about a future in geospatial intelligence. The experience from this project benefits the GEOINT Community by engaging children in geospatial technologies at a young age. As the YPG further develops this project, the group plans to customize the project for various locations throughout the country.

USGIF would like to thank GeoEye for donating maps of the National Mall.
h3. GEOINT 2010 YPG Service Project

Photos from the YPG Orientation & Service Project at the GEOINT 2010 Symposium
Watch the GEOINTv news segment
Download the map made from the GEOINT 2010 Service Project

On Nov. 1, 2010 the USGIF Young Professionals Group (YPG) met for a special YPG Orientation and Service Project during the GEOINT 2010 Symposium.

A behind-the-scenes tour of the exhibit hall and other important areas was provided by USGIF President Keith Masback. He shared his insight on what to expect and how to take advantage of all the great career and networking opportunities during the Symposium.

The Young Professionals worked with Beacon of Hope Resource Center for the GEOINT 2010 Service Project. Beacon of Hope will provide a model for recovery in neighborhoods devastated by Hurricane Katrina, as well as other areas affected by disaster.

The USGIF Young Professionals Group worked in the Filmore Gardens Neighborhood located in the 7th Ward of New Orleans, LA. Locals from the neighborhood assisted with the project and informed the group about the Filmore Gardens Neighborhood. Young Professionals covered the area in small teams of 2 or more people using a provided spreadsheet, a section map and a complete neighborhood map. They marked the conditions of the property and then turn their data over to the data manager from the neighborhood to be complied.

Once the maps are finished they are given to the neighborhood where they are made public and used by neighborhood outreach teams. These mapping results provide a simple way for residents to identify blight, Louisiana Land Trust properties, and occupancy rates. Residents can also encourage developers and business owners to open new locations in heavily populated areas and make an investment back into their community, as well as assist in forecasting economic viability. City and state agencies have also used these results to establish priority areas of infrastructure repair and blight mitigation. The results are also used to identify needs in neighborhoods.

The group also coordinated with Hewlett- Packard to donate a new HP Designjet T7700HDV plotter, and TerraGo Technologies, who provided a publisher for an ArcGIS license to Beacon of Hope.

Beacon of Hope will provide a model for recovery in neighborhoods devastated by Hurricane Katrina, as well as other areas affected by disaster.

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