Subject Area
Social Studies

Activity Overview
Bioprospecting, looking for microorganisms that have potential to contribute to human endeavors, is an important step in many companies research. In this activity, students are cartographers and have been asked to make a map of unusual places that the researches might travel to "prospect" for bacteria (a microorganism). By the end of this activity, students should have an understanding of mapmaking and working together.

Materials
research materials
pens, markers
paper

Activity Outline
Have students:
1. Investigate map-making as initial research.
2. Research the use of symbols on maps.
3. Use other maps as a springboard to plan own map.
4. Create a map--could use computer generated topography. The map should include many different landforms, climates, altitudes, etc. Students need to provide a title, scale and key.
5. Display maps.

Assessment
Assess comprehension by a discussion of what has been included on the maps and accessing the maps themselves.

Standards and Benchmarks
Geography

The World in Spatial Terms
Standard 1: Understands the characteristics and uses of maps, globes, and other geographic tools and technologies
1. Knows the purposes and distinguishing characteristics of different map projections, including distortion on flat-map projections
2. Uses thematic maps (e.g., patterns of population, disease, economic features, rainfall, vegetation)
3. Understands concepts such as axis, major parallels, seasons, rotation, revolution, and principal lines of latitude and longitude
(Earth-Sun relations)
4. Knows the advantages and disadvantages of maps, globes, and other geographic tools to illustrate a data set (e.g., data on population distribution, language-use patterns, energy consumption at different times of the year)
7. Knows the characteristics and purposes of geographic databases (e.g., databases containing census data, land-use data, topographic information)

Standard 2: Knows the location of places, geographic features, and patterns of the environment
1. Knows the location of physical and human features on maps and globes (e.g., culture hearths such as Mesopotamia, Huang Ho, the Yucatan Peninsula, the Nile Valley; major ocean currents; wind patterns; land forms; climate regions)

Places and Regions
Standard 4: Understands the physical and human characteristics of place
1. Knows the human characteristics of places (e.g., cultural characteristics such as religion, language, politics, technology, family structure, gender; population characteristics; land uses; levels of development)
2. Knows the physical characteristics of places (e.g., soils, land forms, vegetation, wildlife, climate, natural hazards)