A cult classic, The Princess Bride first captured the hearts and minds of viewers on this day in 1897 (starting, of course, with the Grandson.) The story followed a slew of characters as they traversed the inconceivable landscapes of Florin…
First Mystery Map of the 2017-2018 Academic Year
What better way to kick off the fall semester with a Mystery Map? The stakes are high–pride and glory, a spot on the Mystery Map Hall of Fame™, and negotiable baked goods. Behold: When you have a guess, submit your…
Today in History as Told by Maps: September 12, 1229
James I of Aragon (appropriately known as James the Conqueror) landed at Santa Ponça, Majorca on this day in 1229—launching the first of his campaigns to capture the Balearic Islands. The largest of the islands, Majorca lies at the heart…
Cartography Across Disciplines: Archaeology in the SAL
By SAL Assistant Rachel Moskowitz ’18 During the fall semester, Professor Liz Klarich came to the Spatial Analysis Lab to ask for assistance with a series of maps for her book manuscript. She requested help with three publication maps detailing…
Bringing back hand-drawn maps (or, how to be a hipster cartographer)
Two weeks ago, I attended the annual conference of the North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS) in Colorado Springs as part of our ongoing efforts to integrate design thinking into how we teach cartography at Smith. Attendees come from all corners…
Senior Week Workshops
Calling all aspiring cartographers and spatial thinkers! Interested in developing your map-making skills? Have some spare time during Senior Week? The Spatial Analysis Lab would like to invite Smith students, faculty, staff, and community to join us for a series…
Nepal Earthquake Response Workshop Well Attended in the Week Before Finals
The Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team has developed a project called MapGive, which allows volunteers to populate maps in parts of the world where mapping resources are limited. The idea originated following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti when mapping the island’s infrastructure through GPS surveying…
Ebola Mapping Workshop Packs Room
On Wednesday night the Spatial Analysis Lab hosted workshop instructor Teresa Clary to lead an 90 minute session on Ebola First Responder Mapping with OpenStreetMap. The workshop was heavily attended, pushing the SAL and its computer capacity to the limits.…
Smith College Rail System
Geo-artist Elena Terhune ’14 created this awesome map of an imagined Smith College Subway System. Check it out, and read what she has to say about the process of creating it: “Especially in the colder winter weather, we have all…
An Interesting Map For Your Friday Afternoon!
Food for thought over the weekend: a state-by-state map of the highest-paid public employees. (via Deadspin – click map to enlarge) This map is a great example of why maps are an efficient way to communicate data. Could this data…