---
# System prepended metadata

title: Exploring Mapping in Cambridge Commons!
tags: [storyLab]

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---
tags: storyLab
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###### tags: `storyLab` *author: Molly Peterson*
`Friday, November 5, 2021`

# Exploring Mapping in Cambridge Commons!

![Snacks courtesy Jordan](https://files.slack.com/files-pri/T0HTW3H0V-F02JN9NLQAU/img_4824.jpg?pub_secret=3e5fb6410c)

On October 15th, the 50 Church space was out of commission due to a broken HVAC system, so the LL team made some last-minute switches to make sure work could continue efficiently and safely. One such switch was a reinvention of the day’s intended StoryLab programming. Embracing the beautiful weather and opportunity to step out of the office, Jordan devised an impromptu thinksesh for StoryLab LLUFs in Cambridge Commons, complete with picnic blanket, munchies, and—best of all—no masks! (LLUFs were excited to see that Jordan and Marlon do, indeed, have faces.) Being outside in the open air, with the mobility to get around campus and the Cambridge area, seemed like the perfect setting in which to discuss the pedagogical benefits of mapmaking and test out some map-inspired challenges. 

A primary goal of the meeting was to experiment with methods for gathering EXIF data, geographical metadata which is necessary for a number of University projects the LL is supporting. LLUFs helped brainstorm tasks for which photographs, with their accompanying EXIF data, might be captured. One idea which seemed promising was to have LLUFs journey to a spot on campus that is noteworthy for some reason to undergraduates. LLUFs took photos of their route intermittently, stopping to document their surroundings, as well as any interesting or characteristic environmental textures, every thirty seconds or so. The activity was not too different from what would be required from students for a project in the works in the History department, remixing “The Harvard Tour” in an equal-parts historical and personal mode, to better communicate the human experiences of the people who have called Harvard home. 




