It is again time for the annual VGA Story Map Competition. The competition is open to all middle and high school students in the Commonwealth.

Students are invited to explore a situation in Virginia and share their results in a ESRI story map.  This year's competition theme will focus on  "Virginia's urban, rural and suburban connections."  More information on this year's contest theme can be found here.

What: Environmental Justice and Community Storytelling Tour of the Virginia Peninsula

Where: Newport News and Hampton, VA

When: April 14, 2025, 12:00 - 5:00pm

Cost: FREE! Thanks to the generous support of conference sponsors, there is no cost to participants. Virginia K12 teachers may also qualify for additional travel funding.

Background: As a part of the 2025 Hampton Roads Social Justice Conference, there will be a pre-conference Environmental Justice and Community Storytelling Tour of the Virginia Peninsula. The tour will begin with a 90-minute working lunch where participants will develop an understanding of environmental justice and the important role of community voices in advocating for environmental equity. This will be followed by a guided tour to three sites of pronounced environmental injustice in Newport News and Hampton. At each site, the group will be joined by local environmental justice advocates who will share the history and details of the environmental justice issues at that place. The tour will conclude with a debriefing session focused on the roles that Virginia communities can play in fostering environmental change.

Priority application deadline: Friday, March 7. Submissions received after this date will be considered based on availability.

Initial admissions decisions: Monday, March 10

Tour date: Monday, April 14, 12-5pm

Hampton Roads Social Justice Conference: Tuesday, April 15 - Wednesday, April 16

Have questions? Contact Dr. Johnny Finn (john.finn@cnu.edu, 757-594-7939)

Click here for more information and to apply.

Now Accepting Applications

Calling all VA teachers interested in Early American and Revolutionary War history!

Travel with the Virginia Geographic Alliance June 22 - 29, 2025 to experience, reflect, and commemorate 250 years of US independence in one of the most dynamic and critical geographic areas in American and World history.  Fort Ticonderoga, Lake George, Fort William Henry, Lake Champlain, Saratoga, Fort Orange (Albany), and the Mohawk Valley contain some of the most significant sites and situations that shaped the United States.  This 7-day experience will provide participants with the opportunity to visit historic sites and museums while working with scholars and archivists to consider and reflect on the significance of our country's semiquincentennial  through a geographic and multi-perspective lens.  Selected participants will receive a stipend for successfully completing the experience and creating a lesson plan.  Local program travel expenses covered by VGA.

Applications are due January 31h. 

Please make a copy of the application by clicking on the button below.

We are now accepting applications for the 2025 Chesapeake Bay Climate Institute. Applications are due January 15, 2025 Join us for our fifth year in Wachapreague!

For more information about the institute please view the story map below:

Institute Story Map

Explore the Creation of a

Vital Virginia Government Document

“Mapping the Commonwealth” exhibition runs through June 7, 2025

A new, free exhibition at the Library of Virginia tells the story of 10 years, five governors, two principal surveyors and one lead engraver — the time frame and team needed to create one of the first official state maps in the nation.

On view through June 7, 2025, the exhibition presents examples from 40 manuscript maps that highlight the painstaking task of creating Virginia's first official state map. Correspondence and other documents related to the publication of the map, as well as copperplates — printing plates used for engraving — are also displayed in the exhibition. Combining art and science, these surveys attest to the dedication, skill and stamina of surveying teams who worked without the benefit of GPS and today’s technology.