Check out what you missed at the YPG GeoHunt Service Project

August 26, 2011

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 the first GeoHunt on Aug. 19. 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.