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We would like to offer a small exhibition about GIS but have very little time to prepare. As a GIS coordinator I would probably make this much too complicated for the general public who know very little about what the job of a GIS analyst actually entails. Also the subjects that I find interesting such as topologies and coordinate systems and FME Transformations will be utterly boring for anyone not intimately involved in GIS.

Has anyone done a similar kind of GIS Exhibition for the general public?

What advice would you offer regarding themes, content and presentation?

I thought about offering a few PCs to zoom in onto houses in high resolution but most people do this in Google Maps every day.

PolyGeo
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Robert Buckley
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A picture tells a thousand words. Examples on a big screen or wall hanging that the public can relate to, ie: from their area would go a long way, perhaps a "before" processed and then "after" processed images.

Most people will look at this stuff and go "ho hum", but if they see their street, town center, or a water pipe layout that is interesting or relevant to them you will get their interest.

I would not put more than 6 before and after images, but if you give them a WOW factor, you will get interest. It would also be worth annotating them with what they actually are in layman's terms.

A well set up PC with some examples that you can use to show how some of the exhibited items were produced will serve well to satisfy those few people who are really interested, most likely some of the younger generation.

You could even point to good sources of public domain software and information on a flyer to help any seriously interested people get started (Don't forget GIS@SE) and if you have any GIS user groups in the area, maybe give them a plug as well.

Mark Cupitt
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