In these strange days of social distancing and working from home, we have…a host of new office mates. Young ones who share our “work space” and care little for silence and think nothing of joining important web meetings. We used to take our kids to work occasionally, maybe for a charming little “take your kids to work day” or something. But guess what? We are on their turf now.
However, in addition to the challenges of our abrupt shift in working environments comes great opportunity. We are spending more time in proximity to our family than ever before, and we also have to do our work. What if you take a moment, right now, to explain exactly what it is you are working on to your kids. Because maps are cool. And solving problems is fun.
Sitting back in my couch, aka my new office, I was thinking of ways to use ArcGIS Pro to its full potential in light of the situation we now find ourselves in. Being the oldest of 4, I started thinking of my parents and how they are in the home together with their three youngest children all day. Are they struggling with ideas to keep them engaged and entertained while having to stay in? Thinking of a map project John Nelson and his daughter Willow collaborated on, I had a thought: “Why not make the most of the situation most families are in and build a fun project that parents can do with their kids inside ArcGIS Pro?”
Challenge 1: Coloring In
Here is a pristine ArcGIS Pro project — seeded with world physical features layer pulled in from Living Atlas — just waiting for you and your kids to apply your combined collaborative energies upon it. Download this project. Make it yours. GIS nerd parents: see where your kids take you. Kids: yes your parents have cool jobs where they color maps on computers then do Indiana Jones stuff when they’re out of the house. It’s true. All of it.
If you are looking for stylistic resources, then consider grabbing one of these pre-made oddball fun ArcGIS Pro styles (here’s how to add styles to your project) and get a head start…
Yesterday I collaborated with my son Juneau, who is (was? …it’s confusing these days) in 5th grade. He wisely chose the Lego Map style and enjoyed matching up the brick colors to what he judged a good fit for mountains, plains, deserts, and the like. Both last night before bedtime and this morning before I was “off to work” he thanked me for making a map with him. Warmed my heart. What a fantastic intern.
So team up with your new office mates and make something wonderful! These days, every day is #TakeYourWorkToKidsDay so show us the maps you come up with during these days of opportunity! Juneau and I would love to see them.
I have far too much fun looking for ways to understand and present data visually, hopefully driving product strategy and engaging users. I work in the ArcGIS Living Atlas team at Esri, pushing and pulling data in all sorts of absurd ways and then sharing the process. I also design user experiences for maps and apps.
When I'm not doing those things, I'm chasing around toddlers and wrangling chickens, and generally getting into other ad-hoc adventures. Life is good.
You might also like these Styles for ArcGIS Pro: esriurl.com/nelsonstyles
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