ST. MARY STUDENTS WALK WORKD ON BIG MAP

Students at St. Mary Cathedral Grade School took a walk on the world Wednesday when the St. Louis Science Center's Big Map exhibit came to school.

The exhibit was brought to the school to celebrate the Model School designation received last month by St. Mary's Reading Recovery program. Fourth-grade teacher Monica Macke said the map exhibit provided students with a fun yet educational activity for the day.

Principal Carol Strattman said, "We were looking for something really exciting for the kids to do, and the reception has just been wonderful because it's all interactive."

The Big Map, a 70-by-35-foot map of the world, was displayed on the school's gymnasium floor. The map is touted as one of the most accurate in the world and is the only map of its kind being taken into the schools for students to use, said Betty Burris of the Science Center.

Students were allowed to take off their shoes and literally walk across mountain ranges and island hop as they learned about Earth's geographical features and cultural diversity. Fifth-graders Rachael Weidenbener and Eric McLain said the exhibit was much more enjoyable than a standard geography lesson.

"You get to walk on the map instead of just pointing at something on the wall," said McLain. "I thought it was fun."

Weidenbenner said she learned a lot from the display, which was much larger than she had expected. She said she liked the overlays and other props used with the exhibit.

"I thought it'd be kind of like a round shape -- I didn't think it would be this big," she said. "I thought the different activities we did with the different props made it a lot of fun."

Both students said they would enjoy having the Big Map at their school permanently and even had some ideas about where it should be stored.

"We could just move those bleachers away from the wall and put it over there, or we could put it in the cafeteria," said McLain. "I think that'd be great, because then we could see the stuff we're learning about up close."