NYGA Newsnotes

	The Library Foundation of Buffalo and Erie County is presenting an exhibit of interest to geographers and geologists alike. Titled “The Map That Changed the World”, this exhibition includes “A Delineation of the Strata of England, Wales, and part of Scotland”, one of the few existing original maps completed in 1815 by William Smith. William Smith has been called “the father of English geology” because he discovered that the organization of fossils corresponded to the different strata, or layers, which occupied the underside of England. Among other treasures from the Library’s Rare Book Room is a first-edition copy of Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of the Species”. There is also a lecture series as part of the exhibition, including one on “The Ice Sheet That Shaped Our Backyard.” The exhibition runs until December 31, 2005. Information on all events can be found at the Library’s website or by calling the Library Foundation at 716-858-6393. To learn more about William Smith and his work, read The Map that Changed the World by Simon Winchester, available in most bookstores and from your local public library.
	NYSCSS Conference 2006 The New York State Council for Social Studies will be hosting its 68th annual convention next year at Rye Town Hilton in Rye Brook, New York (Westchester County). The dates of their meeting will be from March 1 to 4, 2006. This year's theme will be Ages and Pages, with an emphasis on telling history through literature. As always NYGA will have a presence there. Look for our booths! If you are presenting at this year's conference, please let Stephen or Ginny know. They will post your workshop at the booth. For more information about the conference (including reservations) visit the NYSCSS website
	The annual National Geographic Bee is on again for 2005-2006! Students across New York State and the nation will be participating. First, they compete in a bee in their own local schools. The winners have the opportunity to move on to the state competitions (ours is in Albany). The state winners are sent to Washington, D.C. for the national competition on May 23-24, 2006. If you would like your students to participate you must act fast. School registrations must be in by December 7, 2005. You can get registration materials from the NGS GeoBee website. You can also order the official Geo Bee game and Study Guide from this web page. Let's have a nice representation of New Yorker's at this year's Bee!
	IHARE has two workshop opportunities that should be of interest to teachers of geography. The first is on the Iroquois people of Upstate New York, and the second is on the ancient civilizations of the Middle East. THE IROQUOIS AND SENECA THE FENIMORE ART AND FARMERS’ MUSEUMS COOPERSTOWN, NY Date: June 10, 2006 Location: The Fenimore Art and Farmers’ Museums, Cooperstown, NY Contact Hours: 5 Cost: $50 (includes lunch) Cutoff Date: June 1, 2006 Spend a day learning about the lives of the Seneca and the Iroquois in beautiful Cooperstown. Take advantage of the opportunity to see the current exhibits on masks and Women in History. Com early and attend the annual baseball conference at the Hall of Fame. To download a schedule and a registration packet in Adobe PDF, click here! The High Place in Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Israel Boston, MA Date: May 6-7, 2006 Location: Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Harvard Semitic Museum Contact Hours: 12 Cost: $150 Cutoff Date: April 15, 2006 Spend two days immersed in the splendors of ancient times as presented by the Education Departments and curators of two of the leading institutions of ancient studies in the world. Participants will tour the museums, engage in hands on activities, review curriculum material, learn about current work being done in the field, and gain a greater understanding of the shared cultural characteristics of these three cultures and their differences. To download a schedule and a registration packet in Adobe PDF, click here. For more information... Dr. Peter Feinman Institute of History, Archaeology, and Education PO Box 41 Purchase, NY 10577 914-933-0440 feinmanp@ihare.org www.ihare.org

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is offering a new objective, online resource, globalization101.org, to teach high school & college students about policy aspects of globalization related to civics, economics, geography and history, without any fees or charges. Globalization101.org provides unbiased, easily understandable information and related lesson plans to teach about cross-disciplinary subjects such as world - wide health problems and global environmental challenges. The site includes 11 in-depth issue briefs, more than 70 news analyses, lesson plans, video interviews with experts in the field and useful links. The website is aligned to New York standards of learning: http://www.globalization101.org/teachers/NYstandards.asp.

Please note our next Ask the Expert session with Dr. Papademetriou, President of the Migration Policy Institute: http://www.globalization101.org/upcoming/papademetriou.asp. Dr. Papademetriou will be answering questions on the topic of international migration.

This website is the perfect tool for teachers looking to “internationalize” their classroom geography lessons. We are available for presentations for your staff. As we are constantly updating the site, we have created a newsletter to inform our constituents about recent additions and upcoming event. To sign up for the newsletter or for more information contact Rebecca Weiner, Marketing Associate, CSIS at (202) 741-3936 or by email (g101@csis.org).

Newsnotes of the

NYSCSS Conference 2006