Thanks to Dan Floberg, Maps for Kids project will provide U.S., Montana maps statewide

Don Floberg believes Montana students should have a solid background in geography and history. For the past five years, his Maps for Kids project has helped them achieve that goal.

In early February, every first-grader and every fourth-grader in Montana will receive an 8-1/2-by-11-inch laminated map.

By TOM HOWARD
Of The Gazette Staff

http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2004/01/26/build/local/50-celebrate.inc

The first-graders will get U.S. maps to help them learn all 50 states and their capitals. The fourth-graders will receive historic Montana maps that illustrate the Lewis and Clark expedition.

In all, about 25,000 maps will be distributed to Montana students, teachers and principals, Floberg said.

"It’s one of the creative things that make it easier for private industry to help the school system," Floberg said. "I hope this isn’t the end of helping the schools."

Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Linda McCulloch and Gov. Judy Martz have written letters to Floberg praising him for the map project.

Student reactions

It’s nice to receive recognition from elected officials, but he relishes the reaction from students.

"It’s a real wonderful feeling to create this kind of thing," said Floberg, a Billings businessman. "The big plus is seeing the little kids."

Floberg’s map project started almost by accident.

When granddaughter Katy was in preschool several years ago, Floberg used a U.S. map to help her learn the states and capital cities.

"We would go have lunch at the Happy Diner, and I quizzed her on states and capitals," Floberg said. "We had a similar U.S.A. map around our house when our children were little."

One night five years ago, Floberg received a phone call from Katy, who then was in first grade.

"Grandpa, we’re learning about the United States. Can I borrow the map?" she asked.

Katy took the map to school, and her teacher said she wished every student in her class could have one, too.

That was enough for Floberg. Soon every first-grader in the school had a map.

The maps were such a hit that Floberg received permission from School District 2 administration and began distributing maps to all Billings first-graders in 1999. To help cover the costs, Floberg lined up sponsors whose ads appear on the back of the maps.

The U.S. maps have been improved over the years. They now mention each state’s capital and the year the state joined the union. A timeline at the bottom of the map features major events in the nation’s history, including Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the New World, the Louisiana Purchase, the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The back features pictures of all 43 presidents, from George Washington to George W. Bush.

"In 2000, we had to hold off on printing them until the election was settled," Floberg said, referring to Bush’s razor-thin margin of victory that was in doubt until a month after the election.
Project expansion

Floberg expanded the map project again last year by developing and distributing Montana maps featuring the Lewis and Clark Trail, the Bozeman Trail, the route of the Northern Pacific Railroad, Montana’s Indian reservations and geographic features such as Granite Peak and Fort Peck Lake.

A volunteer committee of educators and designers developed the map over several months. The Montana Historical Society helped track down pictures of all of Montana’s 31 governors, Floberg said.

Pictures of the Montana state flag, flower, fish, bird, tree, animal and gem adorn the map’s upper right corner. In the lower right corner, a timeline traces historic events from the 1803 Louisiana Purchase to Montana’s statehood in 1889. The back features a list of Montana’s 56 counties.

This year the maps also have a place for students to sign their names "to take ownership in these maps," Floberg said.

Floberg wasn’t satisfied with helping only Billings students, so he decided to take the program statewide this year.

The biggest reward of the map project is reading the thank-you notes from students, Floberg said.

He especially enjoyed a letter from a student who said she didn’t know Montana has a "girl governor" until she received her Montana map.

First Interstate Bank of Billings and Lee Montana Newspapers are sponsoring the Montana historical maps. The U.S. maps are sponsored by Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and Montana State University-Billings. Alphagraphics in Billings provided the printing and laminating.

Floberg won’t say how much the Maps for Kids project costs, but he shares the cost with the sponsors.

For more information on the Maps for Kids project, write Floberg at 1550 Poly Drive, Billings MT 59102. His telephone number is 238-7123; e-mail .

Tom Howard can be reached at 657-1261 or at [email protected]

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