A couple of stories about maps and kids caught my eye this week. One is the story about a Cub Scout Pack helping to repaint a map of the U.S. on a California elementary school blacktop. “Painting a life size map of the U.S.A. on the asphalt of Withrow Elementary School was the goal of Cub Scout Pack 332 last Saturday. The paint was donated by the school and 15 Scouts donated there time.”

Another came from the U.K. which for the fifth year in a row is giving children maps in the Ordnance Survey’s (OS) “Free Maps for 11-year-olds” initiative.

Also provided are materials for teachers and checklists of basic map skills.The OS started the program in 2002 after discovering a significant shortage of 1:25 000 scale maps in schools, to the point it was affecting the ability of teachers to teach the cirriculum. Also, the OS determined children really did not have much other access to maps; those around the house belonged to adults. The program is a success, with almost 4 million maps distributed.

So what does this have to do with the business of geography? There is a severe shortage of geographic awareness amongst working adults. Lots of people like maps but when it comes to understanding how to use them, or go the next step and use geographic information in their business decisions, they are, shall we say – lost. Children 11 years old learn from those free maps, engaging them in map reading and other basic map skills. When these children in the U.K. reach the business world, if nothing else, they will have some basic map skills. This foundation should make them more likely to appreciate that geography and location are important in many aspects of their lives and their businesses.