RADFORD -- Geography Awareness Week at Radford University begins Tuesday, Nov. 13 and to celebrate, the Geography Department is sending students equipped with GPS units scampering across its campus in search of treasure and prizes.

The department, along with the RU Geography Club, has scheduled events to commemorate the national event designed to promote the importance of the discipline to the public and schools. RU is getting a two-day jump on National Geography Awareness Week, which runs Nov. 15-21.

National GIS Day will be celebrated through numerous events across the nation on Wednesday, Nov. 14. On the RU campus, participants will join in the fun through an event called Geocaching.

“This event is somewhat like a treasure hunt using modern geographical technology called a global positioning systems or GPS,” said geography professor Jeff VanLooy, one of the organizers of the campus event. Participants in Geocaching will compete for movie tickets and gift certificates to area restaurants.

Geography Week at RU will include a geographical challenge Tuesday through Thursday in the Bonnie Hurlburt Student Center. The event will allow participants to test their geography knowledge for a chance to win prizes from the Geography Club’s bake sale. A correct answer in the geography challenge, which runs from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., earns participants a free baked good. The bake sale is scheduled for Nov. 13 – 15.

Approximately 1.5 million students have participated in geography-related activities since President Ronald Reagan signed legislation in 1987 establishing the third week in November as Geography Awareness Week.

“There is a great need to raise awareness for geography, as our country seems to lack focus in education for this key discipline,” VanLooy said. “While learning basic geographic locations is important, people need to know that geography is not just states and capitols, but it is the study of our physical and human environments in a spatial context. There are many geographers around the globe working to understand and find solutions to the worlds problems, from international conflicts to global warming.”

To learn more about Geography Week at RU, contact VanLooy at 540-831-5254.