Explore different maps and see the world in a new way. Learn about how maps are constructed based on which countries the person making them sees as important, and think about the affect this has on people’s perception of different parts of the world.
Before you start
Print the resource document on A3 paper (or multiple pieces of A4 stuck together), or bring a projector/screen big enough for everyone to see
Bring an orange or satsuma per person, or at least one for yourself
What to do
Sit the young people down and ask:
Do you know what the world looks like? Do you know what is in the middle of the map?
If they’re stuck ask them to visualise a map and where the UK is as a clue.
What way is up?
Show participants Map 1.
Ask if they can find the country they live in on this map. Give clues if needed. Ask the first person to find the country to come up and point it out to the others.
Ask what seems different about this map to ones they have seen before?
Explain that in this map north is at the bottom and south is at the top. The world is a ball floating in space, it doesn’t have an up or a down, so why do we always put north at the top? Does it matter as long as we can find what we need to?
Ask young people what they think about countries in the north (like the UK, US, european countries) compared to countries in the south (like South Africa, Peru, Thailand). Explain that research suggests that north-south positions on maps can change how we feel about the countries on the map. In general, people associate north with richer people, more expensive prices, and higher altitude. While south is associated with poorer people, cheaper prices, and lower altitude. This bias towards countries in the north disappeared when people were shown maps with south at the top.
How do you flatten a ball?
Give out oranges/satsumas and tell participants to think of theirs as the earth. They must now try to peel the orange and lay it out into a perfectly flat rectangle, like making a map from the globe. (If it’s a big group and therefore difficult to bring enough oranges, you could also just do this yourself as a demonstration or in pairs.)
Ask young people how they found this/how successful they were. Then explain that as with orange peel, it is impossible to flatten the Earth without distorting it in some way. Like with the orange peel, you have to stretch it, squash it, and tear it to make a map out of the spherical globe. There are different solutions which cause different distortions.
Show participants Map 2 and ask them how they think this one has been distorted. Give them clues if needed. The answer is that it squashes the poles to make the countries more in proportion with each other.
Discussion questions: What is different about this map? How has your home country changed? What part of the world is in the middle here?
Who’s in the middle?
Show participants Map 3. Ask them to find their home country – the first person who finds it can come up and point it out to the others. Ask what country is in the middle of this map.
Explain that the map maker chooses the place they put at the centre of the map. It is important to think about who makes the maps we use as they can affect how we think about the world and the people in it.
Explain that in 1884, a conference decided that the meridian (the 0 line on the map) should go through Greenwich in London. This was a point when Britain had a big empire and ruled over many other countries so was seen as very important. This puts Britain in the middle of most maps, does that make it still feel more important than other countries?
Show participants the world emojis – there are three, each putting a different part of the world at the front (a bit like putting it in the middle on a flat map). Ask which countries they think are important in the modern world.
Projections:
Explain that different maps are called projections — these are different ways of translating the map information from a ball to a sheet of paper.
Show Map 4. Explain that in this map, called the Peters Projection, the areas of all the countries are correct in relation to each other. Is there anything different about it to the maps you usually see? Which countries or continents seem bigger than ‘normal’ and which smaller? Does the make a difference to how important they seem in the world?
Make your own middle of the map:
Participants each choose a country that is bigger than they expected on the peter’s projection map to be the centre of the story. Then they should draw a map where this country is in the middle and colour in their country only.
Extension activity: If there’s time, or next session, participants can research their country in books or on their phones and then present to the class why they think this country is the most important and deserves to be in the middle of the map.