The Lands and Survey Department will launch an interactive service for schools at upcoming Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Day celebrations in Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac.

Interested students and educators will be able to sign up for the department’s “Cayman Student Package” at the events. This will allow them to participate in the Online Mapping Programme and to work on mapping projects.

Young people will learn about career opportunities in the field of GIS.

The Grand Cayman observance takes place on Thursday, 20 November 2014 at the University College of the Cayman Islands’ Sir Vassel Johnson Hall. A similar exercise is set for Layman E. Scott High School on Cayman Brac on Friday, 12 December.

On both islands, government and private school students from year six and above, as well as those enrolled in higher learning, will visit the fair between 8.00am and 2.00pm.

The fair will open to the public from 1.00-4.00pm.

GIS Day is celebrated in more than 80 countries each year during the third week of November, as part of international Geography Awareness Week activities. “Story Maps–What’s Your Cayman Map Story?” is this year’s theme.

Also called GeoStories, or geographic stories, story maps organise and simplify information, from demographic trends to development patterns, using geographic data. They tell the story of a place, event, issue, trend, or pattern in a geographic context.

As in previous years, Lands and Survey staff will partner with other departments to showcase how GIS maps and data inform government decision making. For the first time, the private sector is getting involved, with CUC and Water Authority joining the showcase.

Schools are encouraged to contact the department to get students involved in the event and to help them forge career paths in related areas. Free booths are still available for agencies and other organisations that want to demonstrate their own “Map Stories”.

To register to attend or exhibit at the event, contact Ryan Pream at 244-3693 or Angeleta Wilson at 244-3509.

For further information, contact Lands and Survey at: http://www.caymanlandinfo.ky/AboutUs/LandsSurveySections/NGIS/tabid/83/Default.aspx or, visit www.gisday.com. To learn about National Geographic’s Geography Awareness Week, go to http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/collections/geographyawarenessweek/?ar_a=1