Project-MOONSHOT ACADEMY

Finding the Right Location with GIS

Discipline/ Subject：GIS, Design Key Themes: GIS Campus Map, Sign Design Course Background Originally titled "Finding the Right Location with GIS," this onboarding project was designed by Mora Jiang, who structured the research questions, project outcomes, and all the acceptance criteria in advance. The course has been offered at MSA for several years. After examples of how GIS can impact everyday life, Mora would always ask learners: "Do you have any problems you want to solve using geographic thinking? Let’s work on them together. If not, we’ll proceed with my prepared project. Your choice." Problem Identification In the Fall semester of 2024-2025, a group of 9th grader freshmen responded to Mora’s question by venting their frustrations about the school’s confusing layout: "The campus design is disorienting. — I often lose my sense of direction." "There aren’t enough maps or wall signs. Even when I find them, they’re sometimes incorrect." After discussion, they formulated their research question: Why do people in MSA community frequently get lost? Validation & Data Collection Mora challenged them: "Is it possible that only newcomers get lost? What evidence supports the claim that ‘people always get lost’?" She also pointed out that statements like "there aren’t enough maps" lacked data. Students conducted on-site investigations: Documented uneven distribution, obstruction, and inaccuracies in existing maps/signage. Deepening the Inquiry To address whether non-newcomers also struggled, these students designed a survey. Mora advised: "Interview community members first to confirm this is a genuine issue." Interviews with 31 students, teachers, staff, and parents revealed widespread navigation challenges. Key findings from 175 survey responses: 90% admitted struggling to locate rooms. Top issues: missing/incorrect map info and ineffective interior signage. Solution Development When there was sufficient evidence, the learners chose to start with the most popular problem they were capable of solving: dividing themselves into two groups, the map group and the wall sign group. The map group was responsible for correcting the errors in the school map and adding more user-friendly features such as "current location" and the shortest routes. While Wall Sign Team group needed to modify the inner-circle wayfinding system from a design perspective. This definitely required the help of a design teacher. Fortunately, not long after the students sent out their questionnaires, they received support from Design Teacher Guo Xuzheng. Guo Xuzheng not only fully supported the design of the wayfinding system, but also agreed that the final output of this boarding class could be used as the final assignment for the design course. The assignments of the two courses could be combined to reduce the students' burden and enable them to focus more on the project. At the same time, another design teacher, Kyson Zhang, got highly involved. He not only gave detailed suggestions on the students' inner-circle wayfinding system, but also participated in several rehearsals in person. Unexpected Challenge The students originally thought that making the map and redesigning the inner-circle wayfinding system would solve the problem. However, as the project progressed, a major obstacle stood in their way: the classroom numbers in the school were irregular. For example, the room after C102 was not C103, but E102. To quickly locate a room, they had to rearrange the door numbers; otherwise, no matter how many maps and wayfinding systems were placed, people would still get lost. Rearranging the numbers of all the rooms in the school was far beyond their capabilities. How could they drive this change? They had to approach the school leaders. But how could they get the school leaders to agree to such a major change? They carefully planned an on-site presentation and PK competition targeted at the founder of Moon School, the principals of the high school department of Moon School, the person in charge of the logistics department of Moon School, the person in charge of student affairs at Moon School, their grade leaders and coaches. Please watch the VCR.

Project

Real-world projects creating positive impacts for self, others, communities, and the planet.

Finding the Right Location with GIS

LET’S SHOOT FOR THE MOON