Featured Map for 14 December 2012:
GCmap: The Next Generation

My daughter drew today's Featured Map for her fifth-grade math class, earning not just the full 100 points for the assignment but bonus points, too. While talking about her map, I told her about the maps I drew when I was her age. She asked why I no longer draw maps. I do, I told her, about five million per month, albeit using more sophisticated tools than colored pencils and paper.

Maps help children explore worlds, whether it's the world in which we live or worlds that they create. Education accounts for a small fraction of the maps produced by GCmap, but teaching future generations is one of the most important uses.

References and additional information:

• Featured Maps: California Mission Mission (13 June 2012)