Going Beyond STEM

USGIF to welcome San Antonio area Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts to Symposium

K-12-Speaker-Panel-CPJ_3685

As an educational nonprofit, part of USGIF’s mission is to educate individuals of all ages about geospatial intelligence. As part of the Foundation’s K-12 Program, USGIF strives to include dedicated programming for K-12 students each year at the GEOINT Symposium.

At GEOINT 2019, Girl and Boy Scouts from the San Antonio area will attend to learn about GEOINT and related education and career paths. About 50 girls from the Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas chapter will participate June 3-4 to earn their STEM patch. Their experience will include interactive activities on USGIF’s Portable Planet map of North America, presentations from female leaders, and technology demonstrations from AGI and BAE Systems, who generously sponsored the K-12 programming at this year’s Symposium.

“As part of USGIF’s K-12 program, we design and deliver learning materials, sponsor STEM events, provide judges at high school science fairs, and much more,” said Dr. Camelia Kantor, USGIF’s VP of Academic Affairs. “Our Portable Planet is a highly powerful tool for building geographic literacy as well as for introducing kids to GEOINT competencies and careers in an engaging way. In an increasingly digital world, stepping on a physical map helps children more quickly acquire deep, cognitive knowledge and spatial relationships.”

Speakers for the Girl Scout program will include:

  • Julie Baker, COO and Co-Founder, Ursa Space Systems
  • Kate Dargan, Co-Founder and Chief Strategist, Intterra Group
  • Karyn Hayes-Ryan, CEO, KHR Impacts
  • Elin Henningsson, Graduate Student, University of Southern California
  • Dr. Camelia Kantor, VP of Academic Affairs, USGIF
  • Cynthia Snyder, Deputy Associate Director for Support, NGA

Additionally, about 30 middle school-age boys from the Boy Scouts of America Alamo Area Council will participate in a geocaching activity with members of USGIF’s Young Professionals Group (YPG) June 5. YPG members will accompany the scouts on a geocaching activity throughout downtown San Antonio, where they will navigate historic landmarks. After completing the activity, each scout will earn a geocaching merit badge.

Stop by the EdGEOcation Station, adjacent to the GEOINT 2019 registration area, to see USGIF’s K-12 programming in action.

  •  

    Take a “Dip” in Support of K-12 Education

    USGIF aims to raise $5,000 at GEOINT 2019 to fund the shipment of its Portable Planet map of North America to schools across the nation. Help us meet this goal by simply “dipping” your credit card at the DipJar, to automatically donate $25. The DipJar will be located at the EdGEOcation Station adjacent to registration beginning Monday afternoon. Be sure to share your donation on social media with #Dip4GEOINT!

,

NGA’s New Power

NGA Director presents revised strategy focused on openness, innovation

,

Teaching the Tradecraft

NGA/USGS seek new talent, skills from universities

,

Exploring the GEOINT Lexicon

A multi-tiered vetting process would help define tradecraft language