Educational Activities and Lessons

Activities and lessons built around USGS products and services--maps, aerial photographs, satellite imagery, real-time hazards and streamflow data, and more.

Map Catalog

Online map catalog featuring 200 of the most useful USGS scientific maps for education listed by 12 themes--topography, image, national park, history, geology, earthquake, and more.

GIS In Education 

What is all the excitement about concerning the use of Geographic Information Systems in education?  Follow this link for lessons, data, and information about the use of GIS in science, history, math, environmental studies, and geography courses.

GIS Guidelines

Guidelines and information about how to download, format, and use USGS and other digital spatial data within Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software. 

GPS, Map, and Compass

Guidelines and information about how to use USGS maps with Global Positioning Systems (GPS) receivers and compasses. 

Online GIS Course at Sinte Gleska University

A two-semester, full year semester course:  Lakota Studies 400/600:  Special Topics:  Introduction to Geographic Information Systems and Science, containing data, lessons, readings, and assignments.

Success Stories

 Discover the variety of workshops, conferences, and projects all over the world involving the USGS education program. 

Educational Columns and Articles

 Published columns and articles about educational research, methods, and teaching resources.

News

 News and announcements about new maps, data, events, lessons, tools, and more.

USGS Educational Resources

Resources for science, history, and geography education from primary through university level.

Volunteer!

 Volunteer and contribute to the USGS Education and Communications program! 

Educational Partners

 Find out who the USGS education program partners with.

Lewis and Clark

 Discover USGS educational resources for teaching about Lewis and Clark.

Map of the Denver Metropolitan Area with the USGS Rocky Mountain Mapping Center

Map of the Denver Federal Campus

Maps to the USGS Rocky Mountain Mapping Center and the Denver Federal Center campus, Colorado, USA. 

Educational Activities Calendar

Find out where the USGS is conducting exhibits and workshops on the wide variety of USGS products, tools, and services, and on geography, science, and technology (GIS, Remote Sensing, and GPS).

Digital Geographic Data Resources

Sources for computerized, geographic and cartographic data  -- scanned topographic maps, aerial photographs, roads, rivers, boundaries, land use, contours, satellite images, digital elevation models, and more! 

Tours

Take a tour of the USGS Rocky Mountain  Mapping Center, where you'll find over 50 million maps, as well as books, CDs, customer service personnel, geographic research, and map production.

Inservices and Classroom Workshops

Teacher inservices in geography and science with an emphasis on educational technology such as geographic information systems and global positioning systems.   List of over 40 hands-on lesson topics for students, that teachers or USGS scientists could run in the classroom.  

Education

The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey's Education Program is to educate and inform data users in the use and application of USGS products and services.  These data users include those in:

• K-12, community college, and university education

• the private sector

• local, regional, state, tribal, national, and international government agencies

• nonprofit organizations

• news media

• legislatures 

• and the general public.  

In support of that mission, the program at the USGS Rocky Mountain Mapping Center:

• Supports and encourages partnerships and cooperative agreements between the USGS and other organizations for educational initiatives, geographic research, and spatial data production.

• Creates and maintains guidelines on how to use USGS data and products.

• Creates lessons for educators at all levels based on national and state content standards.

• Conducts workshops, inservice and preservice training, presentations, and institutes for the data users in all areas of society as described above.  

• Operates USGS informational exhibits at local, state, regional, and national scientific, interpretive, educational, and GIS conferences. 

• Serves on committees and boards of local, regional, national,  and international geography and science education organizations.

• Conducts tours of the Rocky Mountain Mapping Center and other USGS facilities.