National Geographic MAPS: Tools for Adventure
A New International Traveling Exhibit from
The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis and
the National Geographic Society
Grand opening Oct. 14, 2006

Maps are full of adventure! Use them to find pirate shipwrecks, hike across the African Congo or to explore Mars through robots.  Prompted by the alarming lack of geographic knowledge among our nation’s young people and the pressing need to protect the planet’s natural resources, the world’s largest children’s museum and the world’s most recognized map experts have joined forces to develop an extraordinary learning experience — National Geographic MAPS: Tools for Adventure.  A generous grant of nearly $1.4 million from Lilly Endowment and a Museums of America grant of $56,822 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services assisted in the funding of this dynamic new experience that will open Oct. 14.

“Studies have shown that geographic literacy in America is astonishingly low, though good geographic skills are necessary to understand global events and world cultures,” said Dr. Jeffrey H. Patchen, president and CEO of The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. “Thanks to the National Geographic Society and its experts, children and families will be able to learn about and experience maps in this remarkable new exhibit created by The Children’s Museum.”

“In this era when we see ‘global positioning’ in everything from cars to spacecraft, an understanding of geography becomes more and more important,” said William M. Goodwin, Lilly Endowment vice president for community development. “This exciting collaborative venture will showcase maps from the distant past to maps of the future. The project will help us all — not just children — become more savvy about a world in which events in far-off places seem to affect us immediately. Lilly Endowment has been pleased to support this project.”

This new international traveling exhibit will premiere at The Children’s Museum through Feb. 11, 2007, followed by an extensive world tour beginning at the National Geographic Museum in Washington, D.C. in March 2007. National Geographic MAPS will continue to travel for at least five years to 15 major cities in North and South America and Europe, reaching an estimated 4 million children and their families.

“Technology is revolutionizing mapmaking. Maps are more accessible and more important than ever before, increasing our understanding of the richness and diversity of our planet,” said Allen Carroll, National Geographic’s chief cartographer. “Maps inspire us to dream, learn and explore. National Geographic is thrilled to be a part of this important exhibit that will encourage kids to view their world in exciting new ways.”

Dynamic elements within the exhibit, grouped by land, sea, air and space exploration, will invite families to become explorers, chart new territory and plan their own adventures.
National Geographic MAPS will be filled with activities to help visitors navigate their way through new technologies and ancient mapping techniques. New explorers will learn the basics in Explorers Mapping School, where children and families will manipulate and study historical and contemporary maps to learn how they are used as tools for adventure.

Families will also be introduced to contemporary explorers throughout the exhibit. They can use “robots” to explore hidden shafts and layers of pyramids like one of the world’s most well-known archaeologists, Dr. Zahi Hawass, who currently serves as the Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities and is a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence.  Hawass is responsible for many major discoveries, and he headed the restoration efforts of the Sphinx. Visitors can also step into a Congo trek tent or try their hand at tracking elephants and establishing a park for them like Dr. J. Michael Fay, a wildlife biologist and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence. Fay trekked 2,000 miles across the African Congo in 1999 and 2000, documenting rare and vanishing wildlife in an effort to establish protected land.

In Explorations in Air, you’ll see a pair of celebrated aviator Amelia Earhart’s flight goggles and trace her flight paths across the world on an oversized, interactive wall map. Sit in a Lockheed Vega cockpit similar to the one Earhart flew, or try using a sextant to find your location on a map. Then head to the Explorations in Space station, where you can learn more about the work of NASA scientist Dr. Nathalie Cabrol, and use geologic and topographical maps to navigate a Mars rover via computer.

From a simple freehand drawing of how to get to a friend’s house, to the most complex multicolor depiction of weather conditions, all of us use maps as tools for adventure!

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Created by The Children's Museum of Indianapolis in cooperation with the National Geographic Society and made possible by Lilly Endowment Inc., with support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

 About The Children’s Museum
The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is a nonprofit institution committed to creating extraordinary learning experiences that have the power to transform the lives of children and families.  The 433,000 square-foot facility houses 11 major galleries.  Visitors can explore the physical and natural sciences, history, world cultures and the arts, and see how dinosaurs lived 65 million years ago in Dinosphere: Now You’re in Their World® and experience Fireworks of Glass, Dale Chihuly’s largest permanent installation of blown glass.  The Children’s Museum, situated on 13 acres of land in Indianapolis, presents hundreds of programs and activities each year.  For more information about The Children’s Museum in English and Spanish, visit ChildrensMuseum.org.

About the National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society is one of the world’s largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations. Founded in 1888 to “increase and diffuse geographic knowledge,” the Society works to inspire people to care about the planet. It reaches nearly 350 million people worldwide each month through its official journal, National Geographic, and four other magazines; National Geographic Channel; television documentaries; radio programs; films; books; videos and DVDs; maps; and interactive media. National Geographic has funded more than 8,000 scientific research projects and supports an education program combating geographic illiteracy. For more information, visit nationalgeographic.com.