Frolio Middle School, Abington- March 18th

42° 07' 06"N

70° 56' 47"W

Learn more about Lat/Long (including how to look them up by address)
Also, compare today's coordinates to those of other recent EarthView outings, near and far!

The Earthview team is excited to be visiting Frolio Middle School this week!  This our fourth visit to the school, our last visit was on May 8th last year. 

We seem to visit this school during international holiday weeks, last year we visited just after Cinco de Mayo, in 2014 we visited on Valentine's Day, and this year we're visiting just after St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's Day is a global celebration of Irish culture that occurs every year on March 17th commemorating the death of the Patron Saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick. While it is not a bank holiday in the United States, it is in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and Canada. 

On St. Patrick's Day Irish folks around the world delight in the showing their pride for their Irish heritage by wearing the colors of Ireland, green and white or orange, especially if they are from Northern Ireland. Earthview Wrangler Eva's family is from Northern Ireland but she tends to wear green on St. Patrick's Day.

Another way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day is by eating traditional Irish food such as Corned Beef and Cabbage, Potato Soup, Irish Soda Bread. 

Traditional Corned Beef & Cabbage

Irish Soda Bread 

Many communities around the world also celebrate by having a parade. South Boston has a large population of people from Ireland and hosts a large and fun parade every year!

2016 South Boston St. Patrick's Day Parade Route

Even if you aren't of Irish descent it is always fun to celebrate the cultures of other people, you learn new things and try new foods, what gets better than that?! 

Another important time to note this week is the Vernal Equinox that will occur on Sunday! It will be the official First Day of Spring and we will have exactly 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. 

And while Spring is sprouting up on Sunday, Mother Nature did not seem to get the message as we are expecting a winter storm Sunday Night into Monday that could has the potential to bring us a lot of snow...Keep your eyes on the weather forecast this weekend! We've had a calm winter thus far so starting the Spring off with a little snow will be alright.

Photo Credits: Kevin Lemanowicz FOX 25

We hope the students of Frolio Middle enjoy their visit with EarthView Today! 

Pyne Arts Magnet School -- Lowell, March 4

42° 37' 44" N
71° 17' 11" W 
Learn more about Lat/Long (including how to look them up by address)
Also, compare today's coordinates to those of other recent EarthView outings!

The EarthView team is pleased to be bringing EarthView -- itself a work of art -- to the Pyne Arts Magnet School for the first time.

Visiting a school with a focus on art is a good occasion to think about the many connections between art and geography. One is that visual and performing arts are part of what helps to define culture, and a geographic sense of place often includes the production and use of art in particular places.

It is also true that cartography -- the making of maps -- is both a science and an art. Many of the best ideas for graphic design -- such as those described by Edward Tufte in his many books and lectures -- originate in the work of cartography.

A final example is that by drawing maps,  learners of any age can become more adept at using them. Writer Deborah Farmer Kris explains the importance of maps in the age of GPS in an article on the PBS Parents blog.