REDLANDS >> The journey to Africa can be long and sometimes dangerous, but dozens of children made it to a representation of the world’s second-largest continent Sunday after braving just a few raindrops.
Once they made it to the Contemporary Club, just south of the A.K. Smiley Public Library, the real Geography Day journey began.
Volunteers handed out “passports” and took photos to put in them, and then it was off to get a “visa stamp” at the 35-foot-by-26-foot map of Africa.
The map, which children and adults walked on in their socks, included details like rivers, mountains and cities, giving a chance to study the terrain in detail as they placed markers on certain locations.
“I like Africa, especially all the dangerous animals,” said Redlands resident Wyatt Miner, 9, as he put his shoes back on and prepared for the next adventure.
That would be decorating a “globe cookie,” which also provides some energy for the other Africa-themed events that each earned participants a visa stamp: beating djembe drums as part of a guided drum circle, creating a paper globe mobile, using Esri’s Global Information Systems technology to further explore the continent, and learning more African geography facts.
Those who completed all the activities received a free geography book.
The free event was made possible by National Geographic, which provided the giant map and lesson plans, as well as Esri and the University of Redlands, and was sponsored by the library.
“We wanted to show people how important and interesting geography is,” said Marsha MacLean, a volunteer stamping passports and helping with the map activities.
MacLean is a giant map veteran, having used the maps three times before as part of lessons for her third-grade class at Cram Elementary School in Highland, which is part of the Redlands Unified School District.
“The lessons were a little more open-ended today, which lets a lot more people get involved,” she said.
The event ran from noon to 4 p.m. The hope is to bring in similar events in the future, MacLean said.
