This map was handmade by students at the MSAB. As a teaching aid, it enables students to learn their country’s geography by touching the nation’s borders and feeling its lines and dimensions.
[Photo Description]
This is a colorful map of the United States wrapped by an approximately square wooden frame. The US mainland map consists of small wooden plates that roughly correspond to the boundaries among the forty-eight states. Alaska and Hawaii are not included in this map. Small black dots are used to mark state capitals and major cities. The map reflects topographical features three-dimensionally—plates which contain parts of the Appalachian Mountains and the Rocky Mountains, as well as other less remarkable mountain ranges, are raised so their height reflects the altitude of these mountain ranges. The Great Lakes plates are sunken. Major rivers are delineated by lines carved to show the rivers’ courses. Part of Canada is in pink on the map’s upper side, while Mexico occupies the lower left side in brown. Cuba and Puerto Rico are shown in yellow and pink respectively on the lower right side. The Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, and the Pacific Ocean wrap around the United States in blue.
