One of the most exciting things about the Code for America fellowship has been the ability to flex our skills and share the things we love. This past Monday, my fellow fellow Livien and I had the privilege of speaking with a group of Girl Scouts here in Lexington about technology, maps, and design. Our list of possible activities was long, but we decided the best way to get a group of fourth- and fifth-graders engaged would be to get them actually making maps. The creativity was inspiring! It was so exciting to see the scouts making choices about what information to display and what colors to use on their maps – the same choices professionals are making every day.
Considering the push right now to increase the number of geoladies in the tech scene, it was thrilling to push a younger generation of girls into learning about maps and geospatial data. Spatial is special! Hooray maps!