Williamson County Children Get GIS-Aided Geography Lesson

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TEXAS — People often yearn for a sense of place in the universe, in search of tangible and measurable evidence illustrating their place in the world. For intellectually curious elementary school students, this is no longer an abstraction given the annual return of the Williamson County Geographic Information Systems Day.

Each year, the city observes the annual tradition of setting a day aside for fifth graders studying geography better understand the role of GIS. This year, the exercise occurred on Nov. 14 with GIS professionals from Round Rock, Cedar Park, Georgetown, Leander, Hutto and county officials helping children understand geography better toward understanding the impact of GIS.

This year, county officials said, students from Neysa Callison Elementary School in Round Rock ISD were invited to the event and learned about mobile data collection, Global Positions System (GPS), GIS real world uses, how GIS is used in public safety, and GIS technology at the National Weather Service (NWS) through presentations and hands-on activities.

"The management, use, and exchange of geographic information is crucial for effective decision-making by city, county, state, and federal governments," county officials noted. "A few real-world uses of GIS technology include assisting with transportation planning, urban planning, and mapping emergency areas."

For us grownups, it can be challenging to hark back to those years of wonder in learning new things for the first time. That awe-inspiring newfound knowledge county children absorbed this week yields a vicarious experience for us all and maybe, just maybe, a fresh perspective on the world around us.

For more information and available maps for the county, visit www.wilco.org/gis.

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>>> Photos courtesy of Williamson County