The best way to learn about anything is through direct experience. When geographers go out and study an area through direct experience, they are conducting fieldwork. Fieldwork can take many forms. Sometimes it includes mapping and sketching, sometimes it includes measuring and counting, and other times it just includes writing down observations. But, fieldwork always includes using your five senses to find out what a place is really like.

In this activity, you will be conducting both virtual fieldwork in Guanajuato (wah-nah-WAH-toe), Mexico and actual fieldwork in your own community to compare the houses in those two areas. This will show you the landscape differences between these two parts of the world, and it will also give you a glimpse of the distinct cultures of Guanajuato, Mexico and of your own community.

Virtual Fieldwork in Guanajuato, Mexico

1. Take the virtual tour of Guanajuato, Mexico. (geography.uoregon.edu/edge/k12/mexico/Guanajuato/virtualgto.htm)
   
   
2. Study the houses in the pictures and write down your observations in the first column of your data sheet.
   
   
3. Compare your observations with those of your classmates. What do the pictures tell you about the culture of Guanajuato?

Fieldwork in Your Community

4. Find an area to conduct fieldwork in your community. Possibilities include your route to school, your neighborhood, or the neighborhood around your school.
   
   
5. Study the houses that you see, and write down your observations in the second column of your data sheet.

Making Comparisons

6. Use the information on your data sheet to write a paper comparing and contrasting the houses in Guanajuato, Mexico with the houses that you saw in your own fieldwork.
   
   
7. Basing your ideas on your fieldwork, what cultural differences might exist between Guanajuato and your community? How can you explain the similarities and differences between types of houses?