Kids Learn About Spies in the Sky

by | Feb 21, 2012

USGIF's presentation began with a satellite overview and concluded with examples of how GEOINT has played a pivotal role in disaster management and national security.

In January, the International Spy Museum's Spy Fest attracted 468 attendees. As part of its educational initiatives, the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) participated to educate and generate interest in the geospatial intelligence field among kids ages 7 and up.

Our partnership with the International Spy Museum continues to grow, and the opportunity to once again participate in Spy Fest was fantastic, said USGIF President Keith Masback. It was a unique opportunity to engage with children and speak with them about the power of GEOINT in the context of other intelligence disciplines. This is a great fit for USGIF as we pursue one of our goals, building the community, by sparking the imagination of the next generation of GEOINTers.

The Foundation presented Eyes in the Sky: Using Satellites for National Security, an interactive demonstration using video and various satellite and aerial images”some of which were provided by USGIF members DigitalGlobe, GeoEye,AGIand others”to illustrate the impact of the GEOINT tradecraft.

Participating in Spy Fest 2012 not only gave me the experience to work with children of all ages, but also gave me unique insight into the influence of geospatial visualization tools, such as Google Earth, on children at an early age, said USGIF Young Professionals Group member Gabriela Maldonado. I was surprised by the insightful questions the children had. Furthermore, Spy Fest was a great opportunity to intrigue children beyond Google Earth by providing them with interactive activities that allowed them to answer questions by simply analyzing the imagery.

USGIF's presentation began with an overview of some satellites and other spy platforms and concluded with examples of how GEOINT has played a pivotal role in recent disaster management and national security. During the presentation, children had the chance to search and discover what the images or video revealed and were able to see first-hand how to gain information from the spies in the sky.

Source: USGIF

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