Why it matters
Most maps on classroom walls and phones use the Mercator projection, drawn in 1569 for sailors. It stretches land more the further it is from the equator, so Greenland looks as big as Africa, which is in fact fourteen times larger.
EqualGlobe draws the Equal Earth projection, where every country keeps its true area, so the sizes pupils see are the sizes things are. Watching one map turn into the other is the kind of thing that stays with them.
Ways to use it in a lesson
Each of these opens straight into the map. Put it on the board, or send the link to pupils’ devices.
- ExploreTap any country for its real area and how much Mercator enlarges it. Fold the map into a globe, or zoom right down to the streets.
- CompareDrag countries across the map at their true size: the UK over Brazil, or the whole of Europe over Africa.
- StoriesShort guided stories: how big Africa really is, the imaginary lines round the Earth, why we have seasons, what time it is elsewhere.
- PlayTwo quick daily games: which of two countries is bigger, and Find it, tapping continents, oceans and lines on the map. A good starter.
- The solar systemEvery planet where it is today, with its distance, its size and how long its light takes to reach us. Fly to any of them.
- How far is far?The solar system shrunk onto the Earth: the Sun in London, the Earth going round at Frankfurt, Neptune in New Zealand.
Where it fits the curriculum
- Geography, key stages 1 and 2. Locational knowledge: continents and oceans, countries at their true size, the Equator, the tropics, the Arctic and Antarctic circles, the Prime Meridian, latitude and longitude, hemispheres, and time zones. The geography guide takes each point in turn.
- Science, Year 5: Earth and space. The Sun, Earth and Moon as spheres, day and night, the Moon going round the Earth, and the planets going round the Sun. The lesson guide for teachers takes each statutory point in turn.
- Maths. Area, scale and comparison with real figures, worked out from the map’s own geometry.
- Languages. The whole site works in English and in French.
Getting started takes a minute
- Open equalglobe.com on the board or on any device. There’s nothing to install or sign in to.
- In a bright room, choose the Light look from the menu at the top right; the screen button gives the map the whole display.
- Set up a view (a country, a comparison, a story) and share its link. It opens exactly as you left it, for anyone.
For IT and safeguarding
- ✓No personal data is collected. There are no accounts and no cookies, so there’s nothing to consent to and nothing to delete. The privacy page has the detail.
- ✓Works in any up-to-date browser with WebGL 2 (Chrome, Edge, Safari, Firefox) on Chromebooks, Windows, Macs, iPads and Android tablets.
- ✓After the first visit, the app is saved on the device and keeps working offline. Only the street maps need a connection.
- ✓No adverts and nothing to buy. Nothing links out to social media unless someone chooses to share a view.
Sites to allow:
equalglobe.com- the app itself
tiles.openfreemap.org- the street maps
sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov- optional: today’s photograph of the Sun
earthquake.usgs.gov- optional: the earthquakes layer