Learn about latitude and longitude

Planning this activity

• This activity may take several sessions to complete as the papier-mache needs to completely dry before it can be painted. The paint then needs to dry before the longitude and latitude lines can be marked on, so make sure you have enough storage space. Alternatively, you could consider running this at a camp or sleepover.
• The papier-mache mixture can get messy, so cover workstations carefully and consider wearing aprons or old clothes.
• It may be good to familiarise yourself with latitude and longitude coordinates, so you can help people with this activity.

Get ready to get messy

1. Everyone should get into small groups.
2. Every group should cut or tear newspaper into one-inch wide strips, enough to cover their balloon more than once.
3. Every group should blow up a balloon and tie a knot at the end.
4. Every group should get a clean dry bowl and sit the balloon inside it with the knot at the bottom.

Mix the papier-mache

1. Every group should get a mixing bowl, a tablespoon, a mug, and a fork.
2. Mix together one level mug of flour and half a cup of warm water, breaking up any clumps with the fork.
3. Carefully mix until the water has been mostly absorbed.
4. Add another half cup of warm water and mix until smooth.
5. Add half a tablespoon of salt and mix again. Test for consistency by lifting the mixture on the fork. If it sticks to the fork, add a splash of water and stir again.

Cover the globe

1. Place a strip of newspaper into the papier-mache mixture. Push it down to make sure it’s thickly coated on both sides.
2. Pull out the strip. Hold it over the bowl and run your fingers lightly down the length of the strip to remove excess mixture. Make sure there are no dry bits.
3. Starting from the top, place the strip onto the balloon. Carefully smooth it down to remove the wrinkles. Make sure someone is holding the balloon to keep it upright.
4. Repeat the process with more strips, making sure they overlap. Place the strips in all different directions.
5. Everyone should wash and dry their hands after applying a few strips, so there isn’t too much papier-mache mixture on the strips or the balloon.
6. Continue until the balloon is completely covered. Look for any gaps, no matter how small, and apply more strips.
7. Leave each balloon in its bowl and allow the papier-mache to dry until it is completely hard.

Paint the planet

1. Draw the continents onto the globe. These can be drawn freehand or by using the templates in the Map resources sheet.
2. Use acrylic paints to mark the features of the globe. As well as blue for the sea and green for the land, use brown for mountains regions, white for arctic environments, and sandy yellow for deserts.
3. Leave the paint to dry.

Line it up

1. Every group should carefully mark a dot at the very top and very bottom of their globe. These represent the North and South Poles.
2. The person leading the activity should explain that each group will draw imaginary lines that cross the earth, to represent longitude (vertical) and latitude (horizontal). These lines help people to measure the positions of things on Earth.
3. Every group should draw a straight line from the North Pole to the South Pole that runs through the UK, France, Spain and northwest Africa. This is the prime meridian, which passes through Greenwich’s Royal Observatory in London.
4. Bring the line back up the other side of the globe, between the continents of North America and Asia. This is the 180^th meridian.
5. Every group should draw a horizontal line around the widest part of the globe, passing through the northern part of South America, Central Africa, and the islands of Malaysia and Indonesia. This is the equator.
6. Every group should draw vertical longitude lines, as evenly spaced as possible, between the prime meridian line and the 180^th meridian. Make sure you put the same number of lines on both sides. Longitude lines always connect to both poles.
7. Every group should draw an equal number of horizontal latitude lines, as evenly spaced as possible, on either side of the equator line. Latitude lines are like belts and never meet each other. The globe should now be covered in a grid.

Label the coordinates

1. Every group should label the first lines they drew with the coordinates they represent:

• 0° is the coordinate of both the prime meridian and equator lines.
• 180° is the coordinate of the 180^th

2. Every group should work out the coordinates for their longitude lines and label them.

• The prime meridian and 180^th meridian vertically divide the globe into an east and a west hemisphere, each measuring 180°.
• Count how many longitude lines are drawn between the prime meridian and 180^th meridian in one hemisphere, including the 180^th
• Divide 180 by this number. Four lines would mean that each one represents a 45° slice of the Earth.
• Lines that move towards North America should be marked ‘W’, so 45°W, 90°W, 135°W).
• Lines that move towards Asia should be marked ‘E’, so 45°E, 90°E, 135°E.
• The 180^th meridian represents both 180°W and 180°E.

3. Every group should work out the coordinates for their latitude lines and label them.

• The equator horizontally divides the globe into a northern and a southern hemisphere, measuring 90° north or south from the equator.
• Count how many latitude lines are drawn between the equator and the North Pole in one hemisphere, including the equator. Divide 90 by this number. Six lines would mean that each one represents a 15° slice of the Earth.
• Lines that move towards the North Pole should be marked ‘N’, so 15°N, 30°N, 45°N.
• Lines that move towards the South Pole should be marked ‘S’, so 15°S, 30°S, 45°S).

Find a birthquake

1. Visit the website of the US Geological Survey, where you can look up the earthquakes that have happened on any given day. Click a spot on the map to see the location information.
2. Earthquakes are more common than we realise. There’s a good chance everyone can find one for their exact date of birth. If not, try your birth date in another year, or the birthday of someone you care about.
3. Everyone should use the latitude and longitude lines on their globe to find the spot where their birthday earthquake took place. Mark the spot and write in the date.
4. Record the earthquake’s location in the format of its latitude and longitude coordinates, like this: 24.308°N 94.488°E

• The first number is the latitude. The ‘N’ or ‘S’ shows whether the bearing is measured north or south of the equator.
• The second number is the longitude. The ‘E’ or ‘W’ shows whether the bearing is measured east or west of the prime meridian.
• Coordinates are broken down into smaller measurements after the decimal point for accuracy.