Project SPARC (Springfield Participatory Action Research Crew) and the Jandon Center invited the SAL to participate in their community event at Chestnut School in Springfield. We came to the event with two maps of Springfield that highlight various resources throughout…
Maps that Engage and Promote Change Workshop – May 14 & 17, 2018
Learn to create maps that affect social change with design thinking principles at the Maps that Engage and Promote Change Workshop this coming week. Please register here. On Day One: (Monday, May 14 in the Design Thinking Studio – Capen…
Today in History as Told by Maps: September 26, 1991 / Site Selection
Biosphere 2 (“Warning. All hell’s breaking loose.” — Bio-Dome) is the largest closed ecological system research facility, modeled after the original biosphere, Earth. This day in 1991 marks the beginning of the first two-year mission to study feasibility of self-sufficient systems…
Spatial Thinking at Undesign the Redline
Besides just an understanding of how to make maps, we hope that students leave the SAL with an appreciation for the power inherent in making and presenting maps. An exhibit currently on display in the Knowledge Lab called Undesign the…
Wrapping Up Fall 2016
This semester has been one of the busiest that the SAL has seen. In total, 11 classes worked with our spatial technology at some point during this semester. We also supported student projects and worked on several of our own…
Diversity on Diversity
Although embedded deeply within the Sciences at Smith, the Spatial Analysis Lab routinely crosses boundaries to work in other domains. One recurring theme is mapping justice and the typical focus is environmental justice given our grounding. But more recently our…
Tofurkey Map Wrap-up
Thanks to all of you who participated in this year’s Tofurkey Map! 259 Smithies contributed their Thanksgiving break destination to the map. Here’s a few fast facts compiled by SAL Assistant Ellen Sulser ’18: Most popular dishes: (1) Stuffing – 42 respondents;…
May Mystery Map Wrap-up
After a series of mystery maps that were cracked within a day, it looks like we finally stumped you! Believe it or not, nobody solved our most recent Mystery Map. We had some good guesses: several people guessed it was simply distance…
Story Maps in the Classroom
Maps are increasingly popular as storytelling tools in the world of digital media – just a glance at the homepages of the New York Times, The Atlantic, or the Huffington Post confirms that. We’ve experienced this wave of mapping enthusiasm in the SAL,…
Mapathon for Afghanistan and Pakistan
PLEASE NOTE: The mapathon has been rescheduled to Thursday (11/19) from 6:30-9pm so that it does not conflict with a student-organized sit-in happening on Wednesday from 1pm-midnight. On Thu, 11/19, from 6:30-9pm, we’ll be hosting a mapathon to aid ongoing…