Map Exhibit in Baltimore

Yesterday we went to the Map Exhibit in Baltimore and I have to say I was both impressed and disappointed!!

--I will start with why I was a little disappointed...they didn't have anything really cool for sale. The maps and books and stuff they did have were boring to me or REALLY expensive.

And what no prints of one of the best maps there? The Land of the Make Believe?? This is a really cool map based on all the fairy tales and children's stories you heard growing up. I posted a pic of it...you can buy it from a third party for way too much money at this link http://www.jarohesslomb.com/

--oh and the Hubble telescope pics weren't all that impressive...even the ones within that room.

now for why I really liked the exhibit----

-It was cool to see all of those maps that you only see in books....like Caroline said in her blog (Damn she beat me to it!) Seeing them in real life is much different than in a book!

-The exhibit was setup really nice with both chronological as well as subjective themes. The religious ones I found to be fascinating! A lot of the older maps had vibrant colors and artistic details....not your GIS plots of today!

-It was good that they only allowed so many people in there at one time...while I certainly didn't read every word on every display...I sometimes had to wait or move out of the way for others to see...or if you wanted to get up close, it would have been harder if more people would have been there..and most of us GMU folks were in there at the same time.

-I really am a map geek...(without as much passion as people like Jill)...and it was great to have her and fellow students there to point things out to each other. THANKS Jill and the GMU GEOGRAPHY Department for sponsoring this trip and thanks to my fellow students who took the bus with us. I even got time to spend talking with Jennifer Maloney from the department staff!!

-The use of different media over time...from sticks, to stones and clay tablets, to linen to books, to a cotton glove...it was cool to see the world through the various cartographer's eyes! I didn't know the Cholera Map was bars instead of dots and it was actually a foldout page in a book....so yes I can now say...I have seen the original John Snow Cholera Map....as well as the many other original maps that were there.

What would have been really AWESOME would be to have someone turning the pages of the books that had maps in them. It is amazing to me that these wonderful treasures have been preserved and that we were able to see them....and did I mention it was FREE to enter the exhibit and museum that day and the bus trip too?!?!? See the museum would have gotten more of my money if they would have had anything cool for sale.

-The Walters Art Museum was impressive and I had some time (as Ryan told me 14 minutes to be exact!) to see more of the permanent collection...the Islamic, Byzantine, Baroque and Gothic art and artifacts were AWESOME!!

--and FINALLY something totally unexpected and really cool was that for Saturday only there was an NGA booth there.....shout out to NGA!!