A number of recently developed geographic information system (GIS) tools have made it possible to create highly accurate and customized digital maps that facilitate a personalized form of cartography (1). This technology has proven useful in educating students about geography (2), environmental science (3), geology, and biology (4). Chem Map is a Web-based GIS tool that overlays chemical information with geographic information, facilitating the use of GIS in teaching chemistry, materials science, and nanoscience. This approach can make complicated topics more personal and accessible to students, increasing their interest in chemistry.
The Chem Map Web site (5) enables the creation of maps that link images (e.g.,photographs or electron microscope images) to geographic coordinates and a periodic table. For example, a photograph of a solar panel on a building and its geographic coordinates can be linked to an electron microscope image of a photocell and to the element silicon in an online periodic table. In turn, selecting an element from this periodic table reveals all the locations, images, and materials associated with that element (Figure 1). Chem Map is platform-independent and can be used on any Web browser. Anticipated users include educators seeking to generate more meaningful content for classes (6), students creating and exploring local and global maps, and adult learners curious to explore the chemical composition of materials they use and see every day. This approach can engage users in chemistry outside of the classroom in ways that can create a strong connection to the subject (7, 8).
Figure 1. Selecting an element from the periodic table reveals all the locations, images, and materials associated with that element on the linked map.
We found Chem Map to be particularly effective at engaging students (grades 7–10) in a series of chemistry outreach classes. The students in these classes created photomaps consisting of images of naturally occurring and synthetic materials in the world around them. In the outreach classes, students took photographs of everyday materials and linked them into photomaps. Through the process of creating their photomaps, students learned about the elements and discovered what elements are contained in common materials. They also added scanning electron microscope images to their maps using samples they had collected. This helped them to discover the fundamental chemistry underlying these materials and changed the way they see the world around them. This inquiry-based approach can be used to teach lessons about materials science, green chemistry, and environmental chemistry and can be tailored to different age users. The Northwest Academic Computing Consortium and The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation provided support for the design of this software.
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