How Math Maps Transformed Learning at the AAG Annual Meeting in San Francisco

Natalie Teboul
At the American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting in San Francisco, something unexpected happened in a room full of geographers, cartographers, PhD candidates, and students… We put down the laptops, picked up markers, and started creating! Instead of a traditional presentation, Natalie Teboul, also known as Traveling Miss T., led a hands-on Math Mapping Workshop that invited participants to explore San Francisco through a completely different lens: the Coordinate Plane.
Traveling Miss T. presenting at the AAG annual meeting.
Using one of Traveling Miss T.'s San Francisco Math Map templates, participants explored San Francisco from the comfort of the conference meeting room. They plotted meaningful locations, and were challenged to think creatively, visually, and personally through math and geography.Miss T.'s approach blends math, geography, and art, making it a powerful interdisciplinary learning experience for math teachers looking for engaging classroom activities, geography and cartography enthusiasts, students at all levels (middle school through university), or anyone interested in creative STEM education!
Educational worksheets bundle and San Francisco Math Map adventure by Coordinate Plane by Traveling Miss T.
One of the most exciting outcomes of the workshop was seeing how every single math map turned out completely different.Even though everyone started with the same template, each participant interpreted the city in their own unique way, connected math to their favorite places, and expressed their creativity to tell a story through coordinates.
Participant Postcard example with 'Greetings from San Francisco' created by a geographer in Traveling Miss T.'s hands-on workshop.
As the workshop progressed, something even more powerful emerged.All of the individual math maps were combined into a collaborative, living poster display out by registration for everyone to admire our visual representation of shared learning, diverse perspectives, and creative exploration. What started as individual work became a community artifact, showcasing how geography can bring people together across disciplines.
Display of Traveling Miss T. Math Maps at the AAG (American Association of Geographers) annual meeting. Posters on a gray board with decorative border.
Inspired by this experience at the AAG Annual Meeting? You can bring the same energy into your own classroom or workshop.Whether you’re teaching coordinate planes, transformations, or spatial reasoning, math maps turn abstract concepts into something students can see, create, and connect with. It didn’t feel like a presentation. It felt like a creative experience, where people could slow down, make something meaningful, and engage with others in a low-pressure and authentic way.
Group of geography students at Traveling Miss T.'s Math Mapping workshop at the AAG annual meeting.
Looking to bring Math Maps to your school, classroom, or event?
Explore Traveling Miss T.’s Coordinate Plane Worksheets and start mapping your own story 🗺️✨📍
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