What Is a Map?
What Is a Map?
Owlo! Owlo! I have the most exciting news. My family is going on a road trip next week!
A road trip! That does sound exciting, Koko. Where are you all headed?
We're going to visit Grandma Vos. She lives really far away, in a town I've never been to before.
That is wonderful. Have you ever thought about how you will know which way to go?
Mom said she uses something on her phone to find the way. It shows all the roads and stuff.
That is called a map, Koko. And maps are one of the most clever inventions ever made.
But what exactly is a map? Is it just a picture of roads?
A map is much more than that. It is a drawing that shows what a place looks like from above.
From above? Like if I were a bird flying in the sky?
Exactly like that. Imagine looking straight down at our school from way up high. You would see the roof, the garden, the paths.
Oh! And everything would look really tiny and flat, like a drawing.
Precisely. A map takes that bird's eye view and draws it on paper, or on a screen. It helps you understand where things are.
So maps are like a secret guide to finding your way around places you don't know?
I love that description. Let's go to the library. I think I have just the right book to show you.
Here we go. This is one of my favourite atlases. An atlas is a book full of maps.
Wow, there are so many pages. This one has the whole world on it! It looks like a giant puzzle.
It does, doesn't it. Now, look closely. Do you notice any colours on this map?
Yes! The blue parts are really big. And there's green and brown too.
Good eye. The blue shows water, like oceans and lakes. The green and brown show land, like forests and mountains.
So the colours are like clues that tell you what kind of place it is?
That is exactly right. Map makers use colours and special little pictures called symbols to give you information quickly.
Like how a tiny tree picture means there's a forest there?
Yes, and a little tent might mean a camping area. A small aeroplane symbol means an airport is nearby.
I once followed a map on a hiking trip and completely missed a symbol for a river crossing. My feet got very wet that day.
That is so funny! So you really do need to read the symbols carefully.
You absolutely do. And every map has something called a legend, or a key. It is a little box that explains what every symbol means.
Oh, like a cheat sheet for the map! I want to make a map of our school someday.
That is a brilliant idea. You could start small. Draw the classroom, then add the garden, then the library.
And I could use colours and make my own symbols too. A little book for the library, a little flower for the garden!
Now you are thinking like a real cartographer. That is the special name for someone who makes maps.
Carto... cartographer. That is a big word. I like it though. Koko the Cartographer!
It suits you perfectly. So, before your road trip, maybe you and your mom can look at the map together and find Grandma Vos's town.
Yes! And now I'll actually understand what I'm looking at. I can find the roads and the colours and the symbols.
That is the best part of learning something new. The whole world starts to make a little more sense.
Okay, so here's what I learned today. A map is like a bird's eye drawing of a real place, so you can find your way around.
Maps use colours to show water and land, and symbols to show things like forests and airports. And there's a legend that explains it all.
The person who makes maps is called a cartographer, which is now my favourite word. Next I want to learn about how people made maps before phones and computers existed!
What Is a Map?
Ages 6–8 · ~4 min
Join Koko and Owlo as they explore the exciting world of maps and how they help us navigate new places on adventures!
What you'll learn
- Understand what a map is
- Learn how maps help with navigation
- Discover different types of maps
What Is a Map?
Ages 6–8 · ~4 min
