The CT Maps Competition
The CT Maps Competition is a unique opportunity for students in middle and high school to showcase their ideas using Esri’s ArcGIS Online and Storymaps platform. Students author a web map or storymap and submit it to the CT state leadership team to be judged. The leadership team is made up of mapping professionals from across CT. The team will select 5 winners from each division (middle & high school) and dole out cash prizes and accolades. The top winner in each division will go on to compete nationally with other state winners from across the country. The grand prize winners in each division will be selected by Esri and will be given the opportunity to present their storymap or web map live to an international community of GIS educators and professionals in June of the competition year.
2024 CT Maps Competition
Registration for the 2024 CT Maps Competition is now open! Important competition deadlines are listed below. Be sure to check out the Competition StoryMap for full details about this exciting opportunity for middle and high school students.
Teachers! Register today! It is fast and easy and if you are feeling unsure or overwhelmed, there’s an opportunity to ask for assistance. The sooner you reach out, the better. Register by April 5, 2024. Additional guidance will be provided upon registration. Contact Cary Chadwick, cary.chadwick@uconn.edu with questions.
Important Dates:
March 29, 2024 – Early Mentoring Deadline
April 5, 2024 – Teacher/school Registration Deadline
May 3, 2024 – Entries due to the CT Leadership Team
May 10, 2024 – CT Leadership Team Announces State Winners
May 13, 2024 – State Submission Deadline for National Competition
May 28, 2024 – Esri Announces National Competition Winners
June 20, 2024 – Esri Webinar featuring National Winners
2023 CT Maps Competition
Congratulations to our 2023 CT Map Competition winners.
High School Division Winner:
1st Place | Finding Open Space, Protecting Connecticut Land and Gardens
Student Author: Melinda Lu
Teacher: Catherine Piscitelli
School: Amity Regional High School, Woodbridge, CT
View: Details, Story Map
Middle School Division Winner:
1st Place | Places to Take your Dog or Cat
Student Author: Connor Wood
Teacher: Jennifer Ferris-Atkins
School: Scofield Magnet Middle School, Stamford, CT
View: Details, Story Map
2022 CT Maps Competition
High School Division Winner:
1st Place | The Cost of Learning, Property Tax and Inequities in Our Schools
Student Author: Melinda Lu
Teacher: Catherine Piscitelli
School: Amity Regional High School, Woodbridge, CT
View: Details, Story Map
Middle School Division Winner:
1st Place | Waste and Recycling in Connecticut
Student Author: Viktoria Kostyuk
Teacher: Jennifer Ferris-Atkins
School: Scofield Magnet Middle School, Stamford, CT
View: Details, Story Map
Additional 2022 Award Winners | First Runners Up
HS: Campbell Treschuk, Bridgeport Regional Aquaculture Science and Technology Ed Center
Bountiful Biodiversity of Ash Creek, Details, Story Map
MS: Diego Muralles, Scofield Magnet Middle School
Native American Reservations in Connecticut, Details, Story Map
2021 CT Maps Competition
High School Division Winner:
1st Place | Cerulean Warblers in Northwestern Connecticut
Student Author: Olivia Pignataro
Teacher: Laurie Doss
School: The Marvelwood School, Kent, CT
View: Details, Story Map
Middle School Division Winner:
1st Place | Water Resources
Student Author: Viktoria Kostyuk
Teacher: Jennifer Ferris-Atkins
School: Scofield Magnet Middle School, Stamford, CT
View: Details, Story Map
Additional Award Winners | High School Division:
The Marvelwood School, Kent, CT
“SWALLOWED” in Kent, Details, Story Map
Prince Tech High School, Hartford, CT
BET Bird Boxes, Details, Story Map
Additional Award Winners | Middle School Division:
Scofield Magnet Middle School, Stamford, CT
Things to Know about Stamford, Details, Story Map
Scofield Magnet Middle School, Stamford, CT
COVID-19 Vaccination Sites, Details, Story Map
2020 CT Maps Competition
High School Division Winner:
1st Place | The Beavers of Mendell’s Folly
Student Author: Melinda Lu
Teacher: Shaun DeRosa
School: Amity Regional High School, Woodbridge, CT
View: Details, Story Map
Middle School Division Winner:
1st Place | The 2018 Connecticut Gubernatorial Election
Student Author: William Snead & AJ Corelli
Teacher: Jennifer Ferris-Atkins
School: Scofield Magnet Middle School, Stamford, CT
View: Details, Story Map
The following story maps also received very high marks. Congratulations, students!
Additional Award Winners | High School Division:
Westminster School, Simsbury, CT
Environmental Impact on Ovenbird Songs, Details, Story Map
The Marvelwood School, Kent, CT
Traveling the Northwest Corner in the Real Bat Mobile, Details, Story Map
Do You Have What it Takes to Customize a Raven Exhibit?, Details, Story Map
Additional Award Winners | Middle School Division:
Dual Language Arts Middle School, Waterford, CT
Camp Harkness, Details, Story Map
2019 CT Maps Competition
The CT GIS Network would like to congratulate the participants of the 2018-2019 CT Maps Competition. Students and teachers from across Connecticut recently participated in this national maps competition for middle and high school students. Sponsored by Esri and utilizing Esri’s ArcGIS Online platform, students presented data and information on a topic or project of their choice in interactive story maps. Subject matter ranged from wildlife to war battles. A panel made up of GIS professionals judged the entries and selected a top prize winner in both the middle school and high school divisions. We would like to recognize the students and teachers who participated in the contest this year and acknowledge the house of work that go into collecting data, developing maps, and producing supplemental material including videos and engaging photographs that make these projects so fantastic.
For the CT Maps Competition, Esri has granted $100 awards to the top 5 maps in each division. The 1st place winner in each division will be submitted to Esri for judging at the national level. The top overall individual/team in each division will receive an invitation to attend the Esri International Users Conference in San Diego, California in July 2019. In total, 36 states participated in this year’s national competition. Esri will announce the national winners on June 3, 2019.
We are pleased to announce the top 5 maps and the first-place winners of the 2019 Connecticut Maps Competition.
High School Division Winner:
1st Place | Birding the Audrey & Robert Tobin Preserve
Student Author: Madelyn Malinowski
Teacher: Laurie Doss
School: The Marvelwood School, Kent, CT
View: Details, Story Map
Middle School Division Winner:
1st Place | Water Quality of the Rippowam River
Student Author: Aryan Pandalai
Teacher: Jennifer Ferris
School: Scofield Magnet Middle School, Stamford, CT
View: Details, Story Map
Additional Award Winners | High School Division:
The Marvelwood School, Kent, CT
Pilot Bioacoustics Study of Avian Wildlife, Details, Story Map
Are Acoustic Contributions to the CT Bird Atlas Possible, Details, Story Map
Lyman Hall High School, Wallingford, CT
View the Q, Details, Story Map
A Tour of Ives Farm: A Cheshire Land Trust Treasure, Details, Story Map
Additional Award Winners | Middle School Division:
Scofield Magnet Middle School, Stamford, CT
CT War Trail, Details, Story Map
Colleges in the Northeast, Details, Story Map
The CT Maps Competition was sponsored by Esri. Based in Redlands, CA, Esri is the global market leader in Geographic Information Systems software. The CT Leadership Team organized the event and provided guidance to the contestants, and judged entries using Esri’s standard judging criteria. Many thanks to Cary Chadwick (University of Connecticut), Thad Dymkowski (Town of South Windsor), Miriam Olivares (Yale University), Mark Hoover (MetroCOG), and Steve Perry (SPerry Geospatial) for volunteering their time to support this effort.
If you are interested in participating in the CT Maps Competition as either a student, teacher, GIS mentor, or judge, please contact Cary Chadwick at cary.chadwick@uconn.edu for additional information.