She Found Mapman!

In our Can You Find Mapman®? contest (see JS, January 28, 2019), we challenged you to figure out Mapman’s mystery destination—Ephesus, Turkey—then create a map of the country.

This year’s contest winner is Vanessa Kim, 12, of Romig Middle School in Anchorage, Alaska. Congratulations to Vanessa and her teacher Amber Myers.

This year’s contest drew about 4,500 entries from 45 states. Vanessa’s map (above) won the grand prize for its bold design and elegant symmetry.  

“I enjoyed the contest because it was fun to learn about another country,” Vanessa says.

Created with colored pencils and markers, her entry features a detailed border with symbols of Turkey, including a gray wolf, a sea turtle, tulips, and a teapot. Within the border, a whirling dervish spins beside the Blue Mosque. (Common throughout the Middle East, a dervish is a member of a Muslim religious group known for its spinning dance, which is done as part of worship.) In the background, hot-air balloons—a common sight in Turkey—rise above a map featuring the country’s famous rock formations known as fairy chimneys.  

Vanessa will receive $500. The 25 runners-up (see below) will each get a Mapman T-shirt.

While you’re on vacation this summer, Mapman will be heading off to a new mystery location. Look for our contest in JS next year!