Content+pages


 * Add content here for a discussion on what topics should be covered in our atlas. We should shoot for __about 25 themes__ to focus on for this atlas.**

What pages will have to be decided after the age group is chosen, since it will vary a lot according to the target age. If we should target 12 and under as I would like, then I think there are a few things that should be on the list. For example pages on flora and fauna (past and present) would be cool. Since Nevada does have the ancient history of being a lake, and the modern history of being a desert those would be very neat topics to have. I don't know if that fit into another category, but if we target younger kids it would be almost necesary to have. Also for younger kids, people and land are appropriate categories, but economy could be shrunk a lot, it should still be there but very simplified. The following is a list of the pages that I came up with, Feel free to add to it. [Astfgl] Link to Irene's PAGES list. [pg]
 * What pages will we be designing? A chapter structure of the People, the Land, the Economy was proposed for the 'Atlas of Nevada'. Do we want to have a similar structure?**

I think one page should be about Nevada Parks and Recreation. Maybe focus on campgrounds and hiking? [Adam Vaught]

I think that there should be a page that covers past and current peoples of Nevada, particulary the indiginous people. I also think that it would be cool to insert a page that mildly discusses endangered animals and plants and the current state of the atomsphere in Nevada. Perhaps we can even go as far as suggesting ideas that childern can do to help. The over all structure of the Atlas should agree with other atlases in terms chapter structures The People (past and present), The Land (including flora and fauna), The Atomsphere (basis composition), and perhaps something about Technology. Though economy is important I don't know how the subject is going to interest to a child, I know it bores the hell out of me and perhaps makes me a little sad too. I say, lets not depress the childern to soon. [Nathan]

I'm sounding a bit repetitive but keeping it simple is going to be essential. A few basic topics should be addressed such as key town locations and basic political information like the capital. Atmospheric information is also a good topic, Irene's idea of the rainshadow is also a good topic to discuss. A page on mining history could also be discussed. Mining and the lumbering that took place at Lake Tahoe could also be useful. If we do end up doing this for smaller kids we could depict the flumes that ran from Tahoe to Carson City and how some people rode down them. Try to keep the kids interested. (jesse rodrigue) To give credit where credit is due, I did not put the rainshadow one in, someone else added. But I do agree that is could be a cool page and I am glad that it was added. [Astfgl]

Yes, the rainshadow is an essential topic. The children in this state are learning about the rainshadow effect as early as the 2nd grade, and it fascinates the hell out of my daughter. Also, I think we should add ethnicity, such as Basque and Native American Tribes. We could also add a page about landforms such as Horst and Graben's with a picture and a drawing next to the landform. [Gretchen]

Since we are considering Horst and Graben perhaps we should go further (if this is not already implied) and also put a small piece explaining how Nevada is spreading apart and why this creates the Basin and Range geography in terms of tectonics. Geography is always interesting to childern as they begin to understand the environment around them maybe we should use this in combination with our own expertise and consider a K-4 Geographical Atlas of Nevada. I'm sure we can find 25 various geographical themes to keep the kids interested. Rainshadow effect, Tectonic plates, Horst and Graben, Mining, Lumber, Atomosphere, Flora and Fauna, Ethnic groups (past and present), State parks, ect, ect, ect. You get the idea [Nathan]

A lot of the data could still come from the census, but some of the more unusual topics like the flora and fauna that I list above could be a real bugger to get. Fish and Game might be able to help with some of that. Something else that could be difficult is if we were to use a symbol based style of map, we would have to find or make a lot of little symbols that could be understood by the target age group and yet be consistent in style across the whole atlas. [Astfgl]
 * Where will the data come from? This is huge. As you know data collection can be very demanding.**

Concerning the flora and fauna we could start with Dr. Mensing and see the direction that takes us. [Brett]

I would think that most state agencies and organizations would be willing to allow us to use data they have if they knew about the project we were working on...maybe. We may just have to try contacting agencies and organizations once we choose an audience and page themes and see what they say. Census data is good, but there is just no way we can rely on it for everything in the atlas. [Adam Vaught]

We could also use reliable internet sources from possibly national geographic, discovery channel, census data, etc. Pictures and graphics can be created or pulled from places like Google images. (Jesse Rodrigue).

If we are shooting for K-4 audience then we can always use the **MAGIC SCHOOL BUS**, this program has excellent information and maybe we could get some ideas from some of their books or programs. I have several MSB books and a DVD if we need to utilize this source. [Gretchen]

I found a great site while I was geekin' around that we might be able gather precisious data from [|Geospatial and Attribute data] check it out tell me what your think [Nathan]

Gary Johnson has a ton of Nevada data, he is after all the GIS Specialist for the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology. I know he would be willing to help out as well! And there is a ton of Nevada data on Nevada BLM GIS website http://www.nv.blm.gov/gis/geospatial_data.htm and the keck website http://keck.library.unr.edu/. [harmeno]

If we do an elementray level atlas, it changes the elements we need. Symbols and grahic would be huge, and text would be short and simple. It would become much more about the maps themselves and graphic design of the pages than any sort of statistical analysis. [Astfgl]
 * What other map elements are necessary to tell the story? Graphics, photos, text?**

I hope we choose an elementary audience. I would like to foucus more on making creative and original maps and adding cool photos and graphics, and less on crunching economic and population numbers and developing analytical text. I am thinking of something more like the kids Hawaiian atlas we looked at in class. That might make a good model. [Adam Vaught]

I think we should devote at least one page to the interesting systems of rivers and sinks throughout Nevada. This could then lead into a geology section which could logically be followed by a mines, or mine sites, or ghost towns of nevada page. [posted by Mike Freeman]

Graphics and pictures are likely to be more interesting then text, particulary to a child younger then 12 so I agree that we should focus on them more and refrain from complex statistical text as suggested by Irene. I really like Mike's idea about rivers and sinks we should also consider adding some information about Basin and Range and explain why the mountains and valley's look the way the do. We could also think about a page that shows Nevada in terms of its geographical location and tectonic plates and how Nevada is spreading apart as we speak. How contintents move and perhaps what it might look like a mile below the ground. [Nathan]

On the subject of adding unique facts about Nevada I think we should also do a simply representation of orographic lifting and the rain shadow effect. One way to explain the rain shadow effect would be to show a picture of the west side of the Sierras and then an apposing east side Nevada picture. It would get the point across and we could add a simple graphic on how the effect works. As for orographic lifting it would just take a simple graphic and maybe a picture of a good storm coming over the Sierras. (mfindley)

Graphics and pictures are a must, remember what Pat says (and many others) a picture tells a thousand words. That goes along the same lines for a map. Children in K-4 are also known as little scientists because they are continuously problem solving and interested in scientific elements. The text for K-4 would also need to be limited but in a larger font size in order to be legible. Children's beginner and chapter books within this age frame have large fonts. [Gretchen]

I'm thinking that one of the pages in the atlas could be devoted to notable geographic features throughout Nevada. This page could have Nevada in the middle with both natural and man made features located on the map with a supporting picture. We could use bright colors, big pictures from google earth and world wind. I was thinking a few places we could put on the map could be the Las Vegas Strip, Lake Tahoe, etc. Another type of map that we could do like this would be to show the variation in climate and the visual implications it has on the landscape i.e. pictures of the changing natural landscape. (Rodrigue)

I really liked this game that teaches kids where places are. http://www.addictinggames.com/geographygameusa.htmlAt this age level that is one of the most basic yet important aspects of geography. I think we could modify this in some way. Possibly having an interactive game for the state of Nevada. We could have one page showing the kids where certain basic features of Nevada are i.e. cities, bodies of water, unique land features, and even some basic climate regions although that one still may be too advanced for kids im not sure. let me know if you guys like this idea. (Rodrigue)

The Geography Standards and Age Groups Back to the The Atlas Pages