MyKnownWorld.org is an invitation for community members of all ages to consider how the local landscape informs each individual’s worldview, and the countless ways in which the lives of neighbors intersect. As its primary feature, this Ithaca New York-based, pilot online education venture will showcase a growing library of inspired children’s maps. 

This is a project celebrating renewal. As families continue to step out from pandemic quarantines, rehash friendships, rediscover favorite shops, restaurants, museums and other local attractions, our fervent hope is that the map-mapping challenge and process will prompt children to ponder the spacial connections they’ve already drawn around their homes, based on life’s earliest adventures. Are there boundaries? What have vibrant imaginations projected onto unexplored regions? How will the collected maps contrast? There’s no limit to what we can learn from our children at this hour.

Conceived as a curriculum builder that educators can adopt and adapt to impart map-making skills and social studies concepts in the classroom, the magic of the My Known World project is its potential for extension. The platform will also provide adults of all backgrounds opportunities to share their experiences and expertise with students. By threading diverse cultural memories, cartographic inspired histories, lectures and other enrichment media alongside the child produced content, we will establish a unique vehicle for understanding the intricacies of community. The resultant expansive multimedia atlas that we anticipate developing will be treasured for the new journeys it inspires, the exploratory experiences it preserves, and the way it brings people together.  

In the coming months, we will be seeking partner teachers and schools to experiment with the prompt of mapping tracts and neighborhoods across Tompkins County. The questions that arise in each classroom and through independent studies will inevitably enlarge the scope of our vision for the platform.

We’re excited to see what we discover!  For inquiries or to participate please email: jfbarken@monologging.org.