National Geographic MAPS: Tools for Adventure
TRAVELING EXHIBIT INTERACTVES

The 5,000-square-foot exhibit is loaded with hands-on, minds-on activities for children and families. 

Here are a few highlights:

• What is a Map? – There are many different types of maps to help us find our way, share information, look at patterns and solve problems. In the Mapping School, utilize flip labels, magnifiers and scroll maps; discover map basics; and explore contemporary and historical maps.
• What Does a Map Look Like? – Listen to a song map of Newfoundland, examine Orion with a star card viewer or feel your way with a hands-on Braille map. Take a look at artifacts such as a London pop-up map, a Polynesian stick chart and even a signed map of the mythical Narnia.
• Explore it! – Three- to 5-year olds can explore a 3-D map of Adventure Island on a freestanding play table. Visitors can place landmarks on the map and find their way from one place to another or help lost animals find their way home.
• Find it! – Children and families work together to use grids at a table top station for a fun seek and find activity. Look for specific places and buried treasures on Adventure Island.
• Navigate! – Maps help us plan for and record our own explorations. In Navigate!, sit across from a partner and collaborate using a map.  One partner gives directions to a destination, and the other uses the same map to “drive” the car symbol. Find out which directions work best for you — cardinal directions, landmarks or left/right/straight directions.
• Add Symbols – Using computer technology, families and children create a tourist-friendly map by adding symbols to show popular tourist destination spots such as restaurants, hotels, sports arenas and more.
• Make It, Map It – Build and map your own neighborhoods using 3-D magnetic elements. View your creation from different heights to make drawing your map easier.  Be sure to explore some famous maps such as Bruce Wayne’s Manor, the secret home of Batman, or take a look at Gilligan’s Island.
• A Walk Across Africa – Come face to face with a life-size image of Dr. Michael Fay, who walked across Africa to study and document the largest area of undisturbed land there. Activate a GPS unit to watch a video about the explorer and his work.
• Be an Explorer – Younger visitors can climb into a tent and pretend to be an explorer using camping tools. Take a peek through the back tent opening to see a diorama of the jungle, complete with sounds, and play a fun seek and find activity.
• Exploring Egypt’s Pyramids – Using 3-D maps and views of the pyramids, you can virtually maneuver a robot through the Great Pyramid to search for Khufu’s tomb. A video screen will show the robot’s progress.