On June 6, Geography welcomed 100 elementary, middle, and high school teachers from Columbus City Schools. This event was part of a collaborative initiative involving Columbus City Schools, Columbus State Community College, and Ohio State University. The aim was to align STEAMM (science, technology, engineering, art, mathematics, and medicine) curricula and career pathways for students, as well as to eliminate obstacles for students who want to pursue undergraduate studies in STEAMM fields. You can read more about STEAMM Rising at https://oaa.osu.edu/steamm-rising.
Our programming included a full day of interactive and hands-on workshops—tailored to specific grade levels—on GIS and cartography, atmospheric science, and human geography. Theresa Hice-Fromille and Jordan Swaim-Fox (CURA) led a workshop on residential segregation, urban displacement, and redlining in Columbus using the Ghost Neighborhoods project as a starting point. Joseph Chan and Jens Blegvad led a workshop on meteorology and weather forecasting. They also flew the weather blimp for our visitors. Tammy Parece and visiting ESRI Education Manager Joseph Kerski led our visitors through an energetic series of GIS-based lesson plans. Finally, Mat Coleman spoke to our visitors about careers in Geography.
Thanks to our CCS partners including Renee Harris and Deborah Nase for helping to plan the event. Thanks also to Terri Bucci (College of Education and Human Ecology) for serving as the glue behind this project and steering us through many months of planning!
