Welcoming our latest ambassador Nick Blenkarn from Shropshire, UK! Let’s learn some more about him:

How did you get into the Geospatial industry? Loved the Mapping part of being a Geologist & converted with a Masters in Land Surveying from UCL. Joined as a Senior Surveyor, became a Partner, Director & Business Owner over a 30-year career.

Tell us about what you do: Advise companies on how to grow their Geospatial businesses, run KTP research projects to develop new services & succession planning / M&A. With an interest in Digital Twins, 3D Visualisation & Virtual tours.

What are your plans as a Brand Ambassador? To showcase the Geospatial Industry as a place to develop a career, not just find a job. Be part of a team, play with new tech & travel!

Anything else that you’d like to add? I am also a Visiting Lecturer, Global Ambassador for QSI and Pickleball addict. The survey industry has taken me to learn Laserscanning in SanFansico, to present on ScantoBIM at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and demonstrate Augmented reality to the Queen. Where will you end up?

Welcoming Brand Ambassador Charles Jennings who is from the South-East of England, UK! Let’s learn some more about him:

Why are you volunteering as a Brand Ambassador? I want to be a GKiS Brand Ambassador to help young people explore geospatial careers and address the shortage of geospatial professionals in the UK and beyond. By spreading awareness and offering educational opportunities, I aim to inspire and support the next generation in this field.

What are your plans as a Brand Ambassador? I will add GKiS to my content management plan and will use as part of my non-paid work for the industry.

That will include talks, improving links with schools and collages and posting several times a year on linkedin.

Anything else you’d like to add? As a surveyor whose first career in education I am available to create materials, copy, content, programs of study and workshops for GKiS.

Introducing Saddleback Surveys! Let’s learn some more about them:

Location – Southern California
Why is it important for your company to help Get Kids into Survey? Because it’s the coolest job around
What do you do? Owner and chief carrot distributer
How long have you been in the survey industry? 21 years
How did you end up getting into the geospatial industry? Family is in the construction industry
State a funny fact about you… I came from Germany, just like lots of good survey equipment, and I have a horse passport
Favorite piece of kit and why? Saddlebags for my carrots
Your website

Well, NEIGH-bor, surveying is a super cool job! You get to explore new places, work outdoors, and use awesome Tech & gadgets like LiDAR, drones and GPS. I want kids, just like you, to see how fun it is to measure the world! Every hill, tree, and sidewalk tells a story — and surveyors get to be the storytellers.

My name’s Pony, and I travel all over California and Nevada helping my human teammates measure and map the land. Each day brings a brand-new adventure! In fancy talk, I help with surveying, mapping, and geospatial services for all kinds of projects — from cozy family homes to giant public works projects bringing Power and Water to communities. Basically, I make sure everything ends up right where it belongs!

My team has been trotting through the world of surveying and have over a century of combined experience — that’s a lot of hoofprints on the map! I’ve seen bridges rise, cities grow, and plenty of snacks disappear along the way.

My favorite survey technique is using drones. They let me see the world from way up high and help my team map huge areas super-fast — and safely too! It’s like having a bird’s-eye (or should I say horse’s-eye) view of the land.

Surveying takes power — horsepower! With my crew by my side, every survey turns into a field full of fun. At Saddleback Surveys, teamwork isn’t just how we work — it’s how we map our success!

When we think of archaeology, many picture trowels carefully scraping soil away from Roman pottery or explorers in desert tombs. But behind every great discovery is something less obvious yet just as important: surveying.

Surveyors and archaeologists often work hand-in-hand, using modern tools to reveal the secrets of ancient worlds. For parents and kids, this opens up a fascinating way to see how maths, science, and technology connect with history.

Unearthing the Past with the Help of Surveyors!

Archaeology isn’t just about digging—it’s about understanding where to dig and recording what’s found. That’s where surveyors come in.

Surveying in archaeology helps to:

• Map ancient sites before excavation begins.
• Detect hidden structures underground or underwater.
• Reconstruct buildings digitally so we can explore them safely and preserve them for the future.

In short: surveying is the bridge between the past and present, showing us what once stood where we live today【1】.

Tools of the Trade

Surveyors working in archaeology use some of the same tools as in construction, but with a historical twist:

• LiDAR Scanning: Fires laser pulses from drones to detect buried villages or lost temples hidden under forests. Archaeologists recently used LiDAR to map long-forgotten Mayan cities in Central America—revealing entire networks of roads and buildings that had been invisible beneath jungle canopies【2】.

💡 Did You Know?
LiDAR can even see through jungle leaves! That’s how scientists discovered 60,000 hidden Mayan structures in Guatemala in 2018【3】.

• Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR): Works like an underground x-ray to spot walls, mosaics, or even graves without disturbing the soil【4】.
• GNSS Mapping: Uses satellites to pinpoint exactly where dinosaur bones or Roman ruins are found—so nothing is misplaced.
• Photogrammetry: Turns photos into 3D models, perfect for recreating pyramids, castles, or shipwrecks.

Tales of Adventures in the Field

• Roman Britain 
  Imagine a team scanning the ground around an old fort. A surveyor’s radar shows a mosaic floor hidden underground—like using “superhero vision” to see the past.
• Egyptian Desert 
  Drones fly over pyramids, creating 3D maps of tomb layouts. This reminds us of the discovery of the Rosetta Stone in 1799, which became the key to unlocking the secrets of Egyptian hieroglyphics【5】. Today, surveying tools play a similar role: helping us “translate” the invisible ground into stories about the past.

💡 Did You Know?
Before the Rosetta Stone, nobody alive could read ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. Thanks to it, archaeologists unlocked thousands of years of history!

• Sunken Shipwrecks 
  Surveyors send robots underwater to scan wrecks. Augmented reality then shows us what the ships looked like before they sank—like a history video game. Underwater cultural heritage is especially fragile, which is why UNESCO helps document shipwrecks and submerged ruins using surveying methods【6】.
• Dinosaur Digs 
  GNSS and tags keep track of each bone. Just like at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania—where archaeologists discovered some of the earliest tools and human fossils, nearly 2 million years old【5】—surveying makes sure every find is recorded with precision.

💡 Did You Know?
At Olduvai Gorge, archaeologists found stone tools and human fossils showing that our ancestors used technology nearly 2 million years ago!

How Parents Can Spark Curiosity at Home

If you want to bring this world to life for your kids:

1. Go on a “Survey Walk” – Give them a notebook and ask them to map your garden, park, or street.
2. Spot Landmarks – Look at old buildings or ruins nearby and talk about how surveyors help preserve them.
3. Use Free Apps – Try AR (Augmented Reality) or mapping apps to show them how the digital world can reveal hidden layers of the real one.
4. Explore Resources – Posters, colouring sheets, and Q&A guides from Get Kids into Survey are brilliant starting points.

How Companies Can Help Inspire the Next Generation

This month Get Kids into Survey have launched an exciting campaign for the Autumn Archaeological Surveys Poster. This poster aims to teach kids aged 8-12 years old about all of the ways surveyors help to uncover our history and heritage!

Does your company get involved in archaeological tasks?

Do you want to be represented on the poster with your company logo and bespoke cartoon character?

Please take a look at our information booklet which can be downloaded through this page.

The Takeaway…

Surveying isn’t just about construction or boundaries—it’s also a key to unlocking history. By blending technology with archaeology, surveyors help us rediscover lost worlds and inspire the next generation to look beneath the surface, literally and figuratively.

So next time your child asks, “How do we know what’s underground?”, you’ll know the answer: surveyors help us see the invisible past.

References

1. Encyclopedia Britannica – Archaeology
2. National Geographic – Maya LiDAR discovery
3. BBC – LiDAR reveals 60,000 Maya structures
4. Archaeological Institute of America – Archaeology 101
5. Complete University Guide – Top Ten Archaeological Discoveries
6. UNESCO – Underwater Archaeological Mission

Hi, I’m Pixie! Pix4D’s official mascot…

1.   Company Name

Pix4D

2.   Location 

Our headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, a beautiful city on the shores of Lake Geneva. But we also have offices in places like Denver, Berlin, Madrid, Tokyo, and Romania. More importantly, our users are all over the world, bringing Pix4D’s mapping tools to over 170 countries. We’re everywhere you are!

3.   Why is it important for your company to help Get Kids into Survey? 

At Pix4D, our mission is to help build a better world, and we believe that starts with curious minds.  Surveying is about using technology to solve problems. With our tools, you can create maps to check on the health of forests, help map neighborhoods to create greener, safer spaces, or help farmers grow healthy food for us all. 

When you can see everything—from a tiny detail on the ground to a whole city from above—you can build safer roads or protect our planet’s special places.  

All of these jobs are about using technology to see the world in a new way and make a positive difference. We need future explorers and problem-solvers, and we know that kids are the best at that! 

4.   What do you do? 

We make software that helps people turn their pictures into maps. You take photos of a place with a drone or a smartphone, and our software uses a technique called photogrammetry to turn them into a digital copy of the real world.

We help all kinds of people—from surveyors and engineers, to farmers, or policemen. Our tools let them create detailed 2D maps and 3D models that make their jobs easier, safer, and faster. 

5.   How long have you been in the survey industry? 

Pix4D has been in the survey industry since 2011. We started as a group of university researchers at the EPFL in Switzerland, one of the top technical universities in the world! Back then, surveyors weren’t commonly using photogrammetry because it was too complicated or too costly. As pioneers in the field, we saw the potential of combining drones and photogrammetry to make it more accessible. 

For over a decade now, we’ve been helping professionals around the world turn their pictures into maps and models.

6.   How did you end up getting into the geospatial industry? 

I was created by some very clever people at Pix4D who were trying to solve a big problem: making the science of mapping easy for everyone. They wanted a friendly face to show that this technology wasn’t scary or hard to use. So they made me!

My curiosity for exploring is what got me into the geospatial industry, and I’m happy to be a part of it!

7.   State a funny fact about you…

I tried to solve a mystery I saw behind a window, but all I found was a funny-looking alien! It made for a very interesting map…

8.   Favourite Survey technique and why?

My favorite is photogrammetry! It’s like a big puzzle. You take lots of pictures of a place from all different angles with a drone or a smartphone, and then our software stitches them all together to make a digital replica of reality. This is what makes all the magic happen here at Pix4D!

9.  Your website

10.  How did you choose the character, and what does he/she/it represent? Mean to you? What’s his/her name?

My name is Pixie! I was created to be the friendly and curious face of Pix4D who represents our values.

My curiosity for exploring and discovering new things is our secret to innovation! As your “Just Ask Pixie” helper, my job is to give you good answers and a hand when you need it, and that’s how we build trust. 

And because my maps are made so quickly, it means you have more time to get out and play! Lastly, the little checkerboard on my head is a Ground Control Point, which is our way of making sure every map is perfectly accurate. 

Welcoming latest Brand Ambassador Margot Phaneuf from North Carolina, USA:

What are your plans as a Brand Ambassador? We plan to educate high school and college students about surveying.

How did you get into the geospatial industry? I joined the company as their marketing coordinator this summer.

Tell us a bit about what you do? We provide surveying services, engineering services, SUE services, and UAV/drone services.

Introducing our longstanding sponsor Topcon!

“Hi, I’m Yumi, the Wild Cat Ninja from Topcon. I’m very excited to Get Kids into Survey and Civil Engineering…”

Company Name: Topcon Positioning Systems

Location: We are a global company with origins in Japan. Our positioning headquarters are in Livermore, California, which is located just east of the San Francisco Bay.

Why is it important for your company to help Get Kids into Survey?  We’re excited to help Get Kids into Survey. Surveying is like a fun adventure that includes cool science, tech, engineering, and math. Learning about it helps you understand how things are arranged in space, includes awesome technology, and gets you ready for jobs and important skills in the future. It’s like a big, fun learning journey for all the kids involved! 

What do you do? Our team, called Topcon Positioning Systems, makes really cool technology and tools that support people who build things and grow food. We want to help the world by making sure the surveyors, builders, and farmers have the best tools to do their jobs. With our tools, they can do their jobs easier and faster. 

Using our tools, a surveyor can stand in a field and figure out all the details about the land. They measure the length, width, and even the slopes of the land. It’s like making a giant blueprint that shows exactly how the land looks. They help other people know exactly where things should go, like where to build houses, roads, or even where to plant crops. Surveying is like creating a special map that guides everyone on how to use the land in the best way possible!

We also have products that use the information the surveyors gather to automatically control construction and agriculture machinery like bulldozers, excavators, and tractors. This helps those machines perform their tasks so precisely they can get to within a millimeter of their plans.

How long have you been in the survey industry? Our company, Topcon, has been around for over 90 years! We started in Japan in 1932, making surveying and optical equipment, including binoculars and cameras. As we grew, we opened offices around the world and focused more on the surveying equipment and eye exam equipment on the optical side. Starting around 1990, we expanded the surveying side of our business to include technology for construction and agriculture.

How did you end up getting into the geospatial industry? I got interested in protecting my kind because we were in danger. The place where we live was getting ruined, and it was putting us at risk of disappearing. I want to help make the world a better place for everybody, including wild cats. 

Land surveyors play an important role in supporting the environment by providing correct information about the land and everything on it. By knowing all the details about the land and its features, like where the hills are or where the rivers flow, land surveyors help others make smart choices to keep our planet healthy.

Surveying uses positioning, and cats are born with a keen sense of position. Like how we consistently land on our feet, we always like to be aware of our exact location at all times. So, being able to work in the geospatial industry was a purrrfect fit for me.

State a funny fact about you… I’m named after a famous ninja who possessed amazing archery skills. My name means “bow” as in bow and arrow. Ninjas are known to be most efficient in doing their work.

Even though I don’t shoot arrows or sneak around like a ninja, I like to think I’ve got my own set of skills. Cats are known for being pretty nimble and quick, just like ninjas! I bring a bit of those ninja-like talents into my daily adventures. After all, a cat named after a ninja has to live up to a little bit of that legendary reputation, right?

Favourite piece of kit and why?I like anything that uses GNSS since I always like to know where I am. GNSS means Global Navigation Satellite Systems, and it uses signals from satellites in space to determine your location on Earth accurately. It’s very similar to GPS (Global Positioning System), which you might know from your family cars or cell phones. GPS uses a group of satellites to tell you exactly where you are. GNSS uses GPS along with an even bigger group. It’s like a family of different satellite systems from around the world, not just the GPS one. There are others, like GLONASS from Russia, Galileo from Europe, and BeiDou from China. They all work together to help you know where you are, no matter where you are on Earth. And since GNSS uses even more than just satellites, it’s more precise and reliable.

Whether they’re measuring land, building complex structures, or growing crops, our customers rely on our tools that use GNSS to work faster and get things done really well! Our latest tool with GNSS, the CR-H1, can even fit on your cell phone, so it really is mobile mapping in your paw!

Favourite Survey technique and why? Laser scanning. It’s like a super-fast camera that can capture thousands of points every second. This is really helpful because it means the scanner can collect lots of information quickly, even if it needs to scan a big area. So, if you want to gather data about a large place, like a park, a tunnel under the ground, or a building, the laser scanner can do it quickly and easily. And, as you might know, cats LOVE lasers.

Remember to check out our Homework Project, The Road To Success! Available to print out for free on GKiS Resources Page.

Welcoming our latest Brand Sponsor the Minnesota Department of Transportation! Let learn some more about them:

1. Company Name – Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT)