 | December 2010 Newsletter
| | The latest reports say that consumers are spending more this year on gifts and other holiday-related expenditures, a sign that the global economy is starting to recover from the recession that began just over two years ago. However, we all know that the holidays are about much more than just exchanging presents, and have a much longer history than two years! Read this month's newsletter for a global perspective on the holiday season, coverage of last month's Geography Awareness Week, and new 2011 programs and opportunities. Of course, we've got great geographic gift ideas, too!
—Sarah Jane Caban, My Wonderful World Editor |  | | | Global Holiday Traditions | |  We always encourage readers to explore the oft-overlooked geography and historical significance of well-known holidays and events. Here are a couple examples to get you started this season—these are great "Did you know?" topics to start conversations around the family table! | | Christmas Parallel—St. Nicholas Day | | | People in many countries celebrate St. Nicholas Day on December 6. Similar to the American Christmas Eve tradition of leaving stockings by the fireplace to receive toys or coal, children leave boots outside their doors for St. Nicholas, the forebear of the modern-day Santa Claus. In fact, the name "Santa Claus" comes from Sinterklaas, the Dutch word for St. Nicholas. Learn more about St. Nicholas Day celebrations around the world at StNicholasCenter.org and at Kaboose learning. | | | | New Year's Parallel—Lakota Winter Counts | | The Lakota, a Native American group living in the Plains region of the United States, have a tradition of keeping winter counts (waniyetu wowapi), or calendars that mark major events over a single year. Rather than occurring on a specific date, each Lakota new year in Lakota history begins with the first snowfall of the season. Learn more about the Lakota and see galleries of hundreds of winter counts at the Smithsonian's online exhibition.
| | | | | Campaign Ticker | |  |  | | Reader Poll |  | | | Editor's Pick |  Personalized World Atlas
Picture your favorite child or your class in their very own National Geographic atlas! Now you can order an atlas personalized with name, picture, school, and birthday. Atlas of My World also features more than 200 full-color photographs and maps. Get a 25% discount and free shipping by entering NGED25 during checkout. | | | | | | |  |  2011 Student Expeditions Program
Introducing National Geographic's new summer 2011 expeditions and field workshops for high school students!
"I was able to stand back at the end of the trip and say, 'Wow, I did that.' I gained a greater understanding of the native Costa Rican wildlife, what conservation is, and the best friends I have ever had."
—Miller Thornton, Costa Rica Trip 2010 (View a video of the Costa Rica trip.)
Have you ever snorkeled with a sea lion? Gone hiking with a Maasai warrior? Set out on a photo shoot with a National Geographic photographer? On a National Geographic Student Expedition, our students encounter incredible places up close in the company of a National Geographic expert and a team of dynamic leaders. Beyond just visiting great destinations, we get involved with local communities, explore through hands-on activities, and discover amazing landscapes by rafting, hiking, snorkeling, and kayaking. Each student delves into a topic of interest through On Assignment projects in photography, wildlife and conservation, archaeology, filmmaking, and more.
For more information, visit our website or call 877 877 8759.
Join us for a free Webinar for interested students and their families on Wednesday, December 15, 2010, at 7 p.m. ET, and hear from popular National Geographic expert and marine biologist Tierney Thys. Learn about new summer 2011 trips and find out more about some old favorites! | | |  | | |  |  Grosvenor on Geography Awareness Week
"In my opinion, freshwater sanitation is the biggest problem facing planet Earth today. You may say, well, what about energy? You know, I can ride a bicycle if my gas tank is empty, but I can't go more than a day or so without water. Homo sapiens cannot live without water."
—Gil Grosvenor, Chairman, National Geographic Society
During Geography Awareness Week 2010, Gil Grosvenor, who helped launch the National Geographic Education Foundation and a grassroots nationwide geography education program, spoke about the importance of geographic literacy and the Geographic's commitment to training America's K–12 teachers to teach geography. The interviews were posted on the NatGeo News Watch blog.
In a first post, Grosvenor described why effective democracy requires geographic literacy, and other benefits of a thorough geographic education. In a second post, Grosvenor shared his view that access to clean fresh water for drinking, cooking, and hygiene is the paramount challenge facing humanity today. Visit NatGeo News Watch for transcripts and video clips from the inspiring interviews. | | |  | | |  |  Geography Awareness Week Blog-a-thon Wrap-Up
The 2010 Geography Awareness Week Blog-a-thon was a huge success! We had 40 bloggers, 48 entries, and topics ranging from remote sensing to homeschool activities, from the Kaveri River in India to the importance of geography education.
We are happy to congratulate our five Mystery Quiz winners: the Contolini Family, James Briggs, Alexa Hysi, Rupak Shrestha, and Michael Boucher. Rupak was our winner for one of the tougher satellite image challenges:
The hint was, "This body of water, located in Michigan State, is home to an annual winter festival that features various winter-weather activities and an ice-fishing contest." The answer? Houghton Lake. The festival, called Tip-Up Town USA, celebrated its 60th birthday in 2010. In one popular activity, called the Polar Bear Dip, festival-goers jump into the icy January waters of Houghton Lake!
Visit the blog for more Blog-a-thon highlights. | | |  | | |  | Hot This Month | | | | Share Your Holiday Pictures |  How do you celebrate the holidays? Become a member of National Geographic Kids My Shot, and share your holiday pictures with kids all over the world. | | | | Giant Traveling Maps—Reserve for 2011–12 School Year |  Starting January 10, 2011 you may request a Giant Traveling Map for your school. Maps book quickly, so it is recommended that you submit a request early. For information on all maps, click here. | | | | Letters to Lions |  Lions are in danger of extinction across Africa. Filmmakers and National Geographic Explorers-in-Residence Dereck and Beverly Joubert want students to help save lions! Write letters to lions, and the Jouberts will deliver them to African leaders to let them know how important lions are to kids everywhere. | | | | Wildest Weather in the Solar System |  Excite your students about the Wildest Weather in the Solar System, soon to be featured in a National Geographic large-format film, by entering the Space Probe Design Challenge. National Geographic Education has released teaching resources, including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics activities, and interactive whiteboard activities, which will prepare students to design a space probe. Winning schools will receive a visit from a NASA astronaut and a National Geographic filmmaker, a Promethean ActivBoard, and more. | | |  | | | Thanks to all who contributed to make Geography Awareness Week 2010 a success. A special thanks to you, our readers, who visited the website, participated in the Blog-a-thon, hosted local events, and helped spread the word. We could not have done it without your support and enthusiasm! | | | | Holiday Mini-Site |  Teachers seeking fun, innovative resources to bring the stories of Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa to life can find dozens of free lesson plans, podcasts, and more at Verizon Thinkfinity's new holiday feature (National Geographic Education is a Thinkfinity content partner). Among the resources available are... | | | | | | |
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