Do you know when the National Arboretum was established? Do you know the size of the Arlington National Cemetery? How quickly can you find the White House or pinpoint the old Irish neighborhood, Swampoodle, on a map?

Students at Woodley Hills Elementary School, in Alexandria, Virginia, answered these questions and more Dec. 7 as a part of a Partners in Education outreach event with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

April Rountree, Amecia Starks and Brittany L. Reid of NGA’s Partners in Education program played geography-based games, including the floor map trivia game, with students from Kameke Mojica’s fourth grade glass, using a floor map of Washington D.C.

“The purpose of the game is to get the students used to using a map, help them become better acquainted with the D.C. area and teach them about our capitol’s neighborhoods, landmarks and history,” said Reid, a public affairs officer at NGA who developed the game.

The floor map of D.C. is one of several floor maps that the PIE program has printed to enhance students’ navigation skills, particularly relating to areas surrounding NGA’s core sites.

The floor map trivia game, piloted for the first time Dec. 7, is played in two parts.

Reid said the first part of the game allows students to become familiar with the map and teaches them how to use elements of it like the legend and the north arrow.

“The object of the game is to see how quickly students can find various D.C. locations,” said Reid. “The second part of the game incorporates trivia by asking students questions about those locations based on given facts, testing their listening and recollection skills.”

Reid also incorporated physical elements into the gameplay.

“Throughout the game, students use bean bags to see who can toss their marker closest to a given location, which hones their hand-eye coordination,” said Reid.

Mojica expressed how rewarding it was to see her students so eager to learn more about D.C.’s landmarks and its history.

“The students really enjoyed the floor map activity,” said Mojica. “It was engaging, challenging and the students were able to collaborate and work together as a team. There are some students who rarely speak and seeing them get excited warmed my heart."