New York,
NY (May
13,
2005) --
Kids across the country have once again demonstrated their knack for geography in Junior Scholastic® magazine’s annual “Can You Find The Mapman®?” contest. This year’s grand-prize winner is Danny Summers of Gulfview Middle School in Naples, Florida, who found the Mapman in his mystery destination of Göteborg, Sweden, Scandinavia’s busiest port city. For the second year in a row, the grand-prize winner of the Mapman contest attends Gulfview Middle School, and in this year’s contest, there are also five runners-up from that school. The contest results were announced in the May 9th issue of Junior Scholastic, the leading social studies and current events magazine for middle school students.
Created by Scholastic’s resident cartographer, Jim McMahon (Mapman), the “Can You Find The Mapman?” contest draws on the map-reading skills students have learned throughout the year, from recognizing elevations and locating cities using latitude and longitude, to understanding time zones and measuring distances with a scale of miles or kilometers. Once students have discovered where the Mapman was, they also had to draw a detailed map of that location. This year, the Mapman contest drew nearly 8,000 entries from students in grades 6-8 from 47 states.
“The ‘Can You Find the Mapman?’ contest encourages students to combine their geography skills with creativity and imagination,” said Junior Scholastic’s Mapman, Jim McMahon. “I would like to congratulate Danny and the finalists in this year’s contest, and I commend and thank all of the students for their creative, colorful, and well-developed submissions.”
To participate, students were required to trace the Mapman’s route to the undisclosed destination by answering eight questions that would stump many adults. To qualify for a prize, kids had to answer all of the questions correctly and draw a map of the area. The grand-prize winner and runners-up were selected based on their maps’ cartographic accuracy and creativity, including design and color treatment. Students’ entries varied in content highlighting products Sweden manufactures, the country’s cultural life and traditions, and foods such as Swedish fish, meatballs, and smorgasbords.
The questions were (answers in parentheses):
1. I left Belfast in a fishing boat. Belfast is a port city in which part of the United Kingdom? (Northern Ireland)
2. Then I traveled north for about 530 miles to an archipelago located at 62°N, 6°W. Which country controls these islands? (Denmark)
3. Next, I charted a plane to Europe’s northernmost capital city. What is the city? (Reykjavík)
4. I boarded a Coast Guard icebreaker that steamed along the Arctic Circle. Which body of water is located at the point where the Arctic Circle crosses the Prime Meridian? (Norwegian Sea)
5. When I arrived in Bergen, Norway, I set foot in Scandinavia. What type of landmass does Scandinavia form? (Peninsula)
6. I flew to a capital city located at 60°N, 25°E. What is the name of this city? (Helsinki, Finland)
7. Then I sailed across the Baltic Sea to Copenhagen, Denmark. In which direction did I travel? (Southwest)
8. I arrived at my final destination at 58°N, 12°E – one of Scandinavia’s largest port cities. Can you name the city and the country? (Göteborg, Sweden)
Danny Summers won a $500 U.S. Savings Bond, a Mapman T-shirt, and a Franklin® Electronic Merriam-Webster’s® Dictionary. Twenty-five runners up from schools nationwide will also receive a Mapman T-shirt and a Franklin Electronic Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary.
Runners-up are:
Mohammed Ahmed, O.A. Thorp Academy, Chicago, IL
Kate Allison, Nathan Hale School, Schaumburg, IL
Carissa Boire, Stafford Middle School, Plattsburgh, NY
Casey Burdette, Ceredo-Kenova Middle School, Kenova, WV
Christian Courtemanche, First Lutheran School, Venice, CA
Dan Ehrenberg, Saylesville School, Rubicon, WI
Carolyn Flewelling, Gulfview Middle School, Naples, FL
Nancy Flewelling, Gulfview Middle School, Naples, FL
Lyda Harris, Doolen Middle School, Tucson, AZ
Allie Healy, Doolen Middle School, Tucson, AZ
Teiler Kwan, Fernwood Middle School, Portland, OR
Hannah Lewis, Gulfview Middle School, Naples, FL
Alycía Moore, Homeschooled, Danville, VT
Logan Partlow, Aledo Junior High School, Aledo, IL
Josh Patton, Gulfview Middle School, Naples, FL
Margarita Popova, Percy Julian Middle School, Oak Park, IL
Bethania Pulido, Sacred Heart School, Turlock, CA
Kyle Stawitzley, Bemus Elementary School, Bemus Point, NY
Alice Van Arsdale, Gulfview Middle School, Naples, FL
Noel Welch, Forcey Christian Middle School, Silver Spring, MD
Samantha Williams, Collierville Middle School, Collierville, TN
David Wills, Friendly Hills Middle School, Mendota Heights, MN
Yang Xiang, Doolen Middle School, Tucson, AZ
Junior Scholastic’s geography content is consistently popular with teachers and students, offering classrooms nationwide an additional fun and interesting resource for geography instruction. Each year several entire classes submit entries to the “Can You Find The Mapman?” contest. In response to “Ask MapmanÔ,” his regular column in Junior Scholastic, the Mapman has received thousands of letters from kids.
Scholastic is the largest publisher of educational magazines with 34 publications for grades Pre-K through 12, reaching over 25 million students and teachers across the country. Teachers rely on these publications to enhance instruction in such subjects as science, reading and language arts, math, social studies, current events, history, geography, world languages, and art. Scholastic News Online (
www.scholastic.com/news), the magazines’ online companion gives teachers, students and parents an additional resource with which to learn about and discuss current events in the classroom and at home.
About Scholastic
Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHL) is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books and a leader in educational technology. Scholastic creates quality educational and entertaining materials and products for use in school and at home, including children's books, magazines, technology-based products, teacher materials, television programming, film, videos and toys. The Company distributes its products and services through a variety of channels, including proprietary school-based book clubs, school-based book fairs, and school-based and direct-to-home continuity programs; retail stores, schools, libraries and television networks; and the Company's Internet site,
www.scholastic.com