Spotsy student maps part of GMU event

Maps created by students at Riverbend and Massaponax high schools will be on display at George Mason University on Sunday as part of "World Ball Night."

The event kicks off Geography Awareness Week. The map gallery features maps created by students from throughout Northern Virginia and is supported by the Virginia Geographic Alliance and GeoEye.

GMU basketball coach Jim Larranaga and Allan Falconer, former chair of the GMU geography department, created the world ball--a basketball that looks like a world map--in 2006 to encourage awareness of geography.

World Ball Night will feature geographic games and exhibits prior to the men's basketball team home opener.

The map gallery inside the Patriot Center, 4500 Patriot Circle, Fairfax, starts at 3 p.m. and is free. The game against Dartmouth begins at 4 p.m. and requires a ticket.

For more information on World Ball Night and game tickets: gomason.com or 703/993-3270.

--Pamela Gould