Our Past Year

Over the past year, the GSC has provided a variety of geography programs and services throughout the Chicago-land area. From a Native American Pow Wow to National Get Outdoors Day, the GSC has been at work on our mission to advance the art and science of geography in the community. Scroll through just some of the events below to see the kinds of activities the GSC loves to get involved with.

Waukegan Harbor Project

The GSC is partnering with the Waukeegan Harbor Citizens’ Advisory Group in conservation / restoration projects near Waukegan Harbor. Last year GSC Directors Steve Jansen and Drew Bieber mapped the location of downed trees in Bowen Park and gully erosion in Glen Flora Ravine, which aided park officials in clean-up efforts.

Leave No Child Inside Week

Leave No Child Inside Week, at Millennium Park, was all about getting kids actively involved with geography. The GSC was on hand to take children on a geographic adventure inside the GSC’s twenty-foot inflatable globe called the GeoSphere. The children and their parents also helped piece together the United States on the Society’s Giant Floor Map.

Midwest Soaring Harvest Pow Wow

The GSC participated at the Annual Harvest Pow Wow, an educational and communal gathering to support Native American heritage and programs. There was a wide variety of authentic Native American demonstrations of traditional crafts, storytelling, dancing, games for children, and tribal arts.

Chicago Cultural Center Programs

Every month, the GSC offers programs at the Chicago Cultural Center. One of the highlights was a program entitled, “The Geography of Music,” with musicians and instruments from all corners of the globe.

Dinner Adventures

Polar explorer Art Mortvedt gave a tour of the Arctic and Antarctic, as GSC members dined under wildebeest heads at the Adventurersʼ Club.

Union League Boys and Girls Club

To actively engage and inform the youth of Chicago on topics of geography, GSC Board Members developed a World Explorers Club at the Union League Boys and Girls Club.

Japanese Ethnic Dinner

Hosted by the GSC, in conjunction with the Japanese Information Center, GSC member Walter Keats took guests on a journey through the history and culture of Japan. Guests were welcomed to a traditional Japanese meal following the lecture, as well as participating in a raffle for various Japanese related prizes.

National Get Outdoors Day

At National Get Outdoors Day, the public got a chance to fish, fly kites, touch turtles, and of course, explore the world inside the GSC’s impressive GeoSphere.