Map Festival

The map festival in Baltimore had an interesting assortment of maps that were collected throughout the course of time. The maps that caught my eye were the ones showing American exploration in the early 1800's, as well as the maps of the American Revolution and American Civil War. Perhaps this is because I find these periods in time to be of most interest, as I am a big fan of American history. The map showing Lewis and Clark's exploration to the Pacific Northwest by way of the Missouri River is interesting due to the fact that such a large chunk of land was relatively unknown only 200 years ago. When you compare some of the American maps to the middle-aged European maps or the maps of ancient Asia, it really puts in perspective just how young this country is. Of course I have to mention the American Civil War shape tween map that was in the last room of the first floor. When I was doing my own shape tween for the map of Russia, I was close minded to how useful the technique could be. I'm just glad you didn't make us do a separate shape tween for individual battles as I believe that map had. I was disappointed that the map was not touch screen so that the timeline could be controlled, but I guess I'm being picky.

But, the most interesting map on hand (corny I know) was not a traditional map, but a map that was placed on a glove. What confused me most about the map was that the buildings placed on the fingers of the glove could be changed in terms of location. Location and perhaps distance would only be accurate if the fingers of the glove were close together. But in terms of creativity I felt that was the best. Another map that I found interesting was the literacy (or illiteracy) of men in England in either the 1500's or 1600's. When I looked at it, I wondered "how could they possibly obtain records for who was literate and who was not during that time period?" Education was not nearly as formal as it is today, so I really wasn’t sure how it was collected. But, when I read the caption to the side of the map it was the number of men who signed "x" and not their name on the marriage certificate. I had never thought of that in terms of finding illiteracy, which was interesting to learn. But, I presume that the percentage of men that were married is much higher than it is now because that would cause for an incomplete study. Nevertheless, this map highlights the several different types of data maps are used for. The globes on the third floor were also interesting despite the fact they were the only globes at the exhibit. A guy dressed in Renaissance attire pointed Ben and me in the right direction of the globes because we looked lost and circled him several times. He explained that both globes are needed simultaneously, as one was needed for location/ geographic purpose and the other for the constellations. I was going to ask him more questions about it, but he disappeared. Maybe I just imagined him.

If I were to go back, I would spend more time in the first room where I believe some of the older maps are. Since I’m impatient and hate being crowded, I did not spend as much time in there since every time I went back in, there were a million people congregated in the room (I don't know what Martha is talking about). They must have stopped patrolling the number of people they let in, after they let us in. Also, other than the globes placed on the third floor and the map that was on the wall once you walked out of the elevator, I didn’t see much else that was map or geography related. This is despite the fact that they had signs saying “maps” and arrows pointing in a certain direction. In addition, a guard working the map festival claimed there were “several” maps on the second and third floor, but I won’t hold that against her. But, looking for the maps led me to the art exhibit and paintings. I spent the better part of an hour looking at some of the works depicting Jesus which was really interesting. But as for the maps, the one thing I took from it is that they are often made for people who are not familiar with the area or history of the land. As a result, mapmakers have the task of explaining an area without the luxury of words, which to me is really intriguing.

Oh yeah, what is the deal with the hats? I asked for one and they said they only give them to kids. Yet, I saw several adults wearing one. No need to lie. That took the overall experience of the trip from good to fair.