Boston Harbor Islands

Photo from Directory of Boston

A recent Boston Globe article describes efforts to expand tourism at the islands in Boston Harbor, which have been under the auspices of the National Park Service since 1996. It describes the friction of distance created by the relatively high-cost ferries. Even so, the islands are scenic, historic, and varied enough to provide many opportunities for geographers to explore. They might make a good destination for a GEO excursion in the fall, and certainly a nice outing for any summer day.

Geographers can also learn a lot about the harbor from the Hull Lifesaving Museum, which has recently embarked on an exciting geographic education project.

BSC Geography and the Summer of Science

The department's participation at the first-annual Connect Summer of Science event at Mass Maritime has yielded an unexpected benefit. The Cape Eyes online technology journal includes an excellent article about the fit between geography and the other STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) disciplines. The author makes a very strong case for a holistic education grounded in scientific inquiry, especially in the context of 21st century competitiveness.

(See more photos on EarthView Blog.)

Regarding competitiveness, the United States has weathered this recession fairly well because other countries are still willing to lend us money to buy things. This gives us a chance to do something we had better get serious about: building 21st-century skills. Those include STEM (especially math!), writing, foreign languages, and of course GEOGRAPHY!

EarthView at Mass Maritime

Friends of the Geography Department are invited and encouraged to join the EarthView team at Mass Maritime Academy next Friday, July 9. We will be there from 1 to 3 pm as part of an event that showcases K-12 outreach programs in science and technology throughout the region. See the EarthView blog for details and contact Drs. Domingo and Hayes-Bohanan with any questions.