Map becomes Art – Creative Learning with Geodata
How can maps be used creatively in the classroom? With the learning module “Art from Maps”, pupils discover how geography and art interact – and create their own works based on real geodata. The new teaching idea has just been published on schoolmaps.ch.
Seeing Maps Differently – Between Art and Spatial Understanding
A dragon in the mountains or a giraffe-shaped coastline – maps can be much more than navigation tools when imagination takes over!
Students explore what hides between contour lines or within rock textures while analysing topographic maps. They use these visual patterns as inspiration for artistic work while deepening their understanding of geography.
From Digital Tools to Artistic Creations
Thanks to the new didactic idea pupils learn to see maps as artistic material.
They begin by exploring digital maps of Switzerland on map.geo.admin.ch: rivers, forests, and reliefs are observed closely to find shapes that resemble faces, animals, or objects. Then they select a map section that interests them most and experiment with it – drawing, colouring, or combining it into new artworks. The process culminates in a classroom exhibition of their creations, where geography and creativity meet.
Hidden drawings in national maps
It’s not only pupils who turn maps into art. Swiss cartographers are world-renowned for their precision, but they’ve also been known to include a touch of humour: small hidden drawings have occasionally appeared in official Swiss maps.
A fish in a lake, a mountaineer on a cliff, or a marmot on the Aletsch Glacier – such examples offer the perfect inspiration for an “Easter egg hunt” in class.
Alignment with Swiss Teaching Plans
The new lesson is aligned with Lehrplan 21 for German-speaking students, Plan d’études romand for the Romandy and Piano di studio della scuola dell’obbligo for the canton of Ticino.
The activity is suitable for Cycle1, 2 and Cycle 3.
Fostering digital map and geodata knowledge
sCHoolmaps.ch is a joint project developed by the Coordinating agency for Federal geographical information (GCG), in collaboration with educational institutions and partners. Its aim is to promote cross-disciplinary knowledge of maps and geodata among students by enabling them to explore the Federal Geoportal through learning content.