For most schools, Family Weekend is among the most important events of the year. Fun-filled activities designed to reconnect families offer a chance for the whole family to enjoy the campus community—across both the buildings and the surrounding areas. For students, this connection between family and college life can be incredibly beneficial as they continue to make their home on campus.
Family Weekends, of course, differ by institution. They may be tied to sporting events, overlap with homecoming, or stand on their own. Regardless of their exact purpose, interactive maps become a core part of the equation.
Come Family Weekend time, students generally know their way around campus. But it’s a different story for families. Many have only received a brief tour of the campus before or at the start of school, while other families have not been able to tour the campus at all.
That’s where interactive campus maps come in. With different activities taking place in many locations, these custom maps can be an essential source of information—as well as a wayfinding tool—to help students and families enjoy the weekend. Learn more about the benefits and how to prepare your interactive map for Family Weekend.
The Importance of Taking the Time to Prepare Your Interactive Map for Family Weekend
Make no mistake: while Google Maps may be sufficient as travel maps to help your families find their way to campus, there are significant benefits to more customized campus map software that apply to all of your events but are especially relevant for Family Weekend. As families look to plan their road trip, the functionality of the right mapping tool can go a long way to showcase your campus and get them the information they need.
Locating Activities
Most colleges and universities plan a variety of events for Family Weekend. This often means that students and families will need to navigate to different places on campus. Interactive maps allow users to customize their maps so that only locations relevant to this event will appear.
For example, families can use interactive maps to locate important destinations, like:
- Sporting events
- Carnivals
- Dining options
- ATMs
- Residence halls
All activity hubs become easy to find and even share on social media as families look to make the most out of the big day.
Access to Real-Time Information
In addition to static step-by-step wayfinding instructions, the right maps can also help by providing real-time updates. Schools can easily communicate schedule changes. They can also share parking availability and other event updates. Some campus maps can even show live information about shuttles to ensure that all visitors can easily find their way around campus.
Sightseeing on Campus
In addition to following the appropriate activities, many families may want to venture on their own tour of the campus. So interactive maps will be essential to guiding them as they find what they’re looking for.
Of course, students may already be familiar with campus and can help guide their families. However, students may not be familiar with all areas of campus—especially if their school is large and has multiple campuses.
With the right solution, maps can be customized to allow students and families to select the areas they want to see. Athletic facilities and landmarks, memorials, and the library… The use cases for maps are nearly endless. No matter their points of interest, the map can become their own guide for the weekend.
Essential Interactive Map Components to Include for Family Weekend
Of course, not all maps enable benefits like the above. You need not just the right map style but also the right tools and plugins to make them a reality. Look for next-generation maps with these components to unlock the full power of interactive campus maps and truly enhance your Family Weekend communication and experience.
1. Event Locations and Details
Research has shown for decades that for any user experience to be successful, online users need basic information first. That means no map can be successful without including all event locations and details for Family Weekend.
Use your map to mark all key event locations, including welcome booths, workshops, dining areas, and entertainment venues. Include pop-ups on your map that can serve as notifications for event descriptions, schedules, and RSVP details. The more straightforward this information can be presented, the better.
2. Parking and Transportation
Next is the question of how audiences, no matter where in America they may be traveling from, can access the map. The first thing any parent or relative needs to do before embarking on Family Weekend is find a place to park. Parking can be a nightmare during Family Weekend, which makes campus maps a necessity.
Clearly identify parking lots, garages, and temporary parking zones. Highlight shuttle routes, drop-off points, and public transportation stops. You can also provide real-time lot occupancy information and suggest alternate locations. Bike paths and directions for walking anywhere may also be valuable.
For many families staying off campus, taking the bus is a more attractive transportation option because it eliminates the hassle of parking. Interactive maps can provide public transit routes, stops, and live bus tracking.
3. Accessible Routes and Facilities
An estimated 3.5 million students with disabilities study at American colleges. Add in their families, and that number will multiply.
At its best, your campus map can highlight ADA-compliant paths, ramps, elevators, and restrooms to make their experience as positive as possible. Designating accessible parking spaces and shuttle routes can further enhance that experience.
4. Dining and Rest Areas
Everyone has to eat at some point. At its best, that experience becomes a highlight of the weekend event. Your map can help by enabling you to pin dining locations, food trucks, and cafes. Be sure to mark menu options, dietary details, and hours to avoid frustration when they get there.
Don’t stop at food, either. Marking areas for rest and relaxation, like lounges and shaded outdoor spots, can go a long way toward helping students and their families plan a more successful day.
5. Restroom Locations
Speaking of basic needs, everyone on campus will need convenient restroom access. The more easily you can highlight them in your map templates, the better. For Family Weekend and your map as a whole, it can also be beneficial to specify which of your restrooms are family-friendly and gender-neutral.
6. Emergency and First Aid Stations
Finally, families may need to know where first aid stations and defibrillators are located at a moment’s notice. Emergency contact points with both school staff and potential third-party first responders may also be valuable to them. Finally, provide contact information for campus police or security so that everyone can get the help they need at any time.
Key Features of Interactive Campus Maps
Campus maps go beyond generic alternatives because they’re tailored to the nuances of higher education and your audience. If you’re looking to fully leverage the benefits of interactive campus maps for your institution, for Family Weekend and beyond, these features can help you succeed:
- Real-Time Navigation: Enable audiences to quickly find the locations and directions they’re looking for.
- Search and Filter Options: Make the map more relevant for specific events like Family Weekend or filter information like dining, attractions, parking, and more.
- Event Integration: Ensure that all of your campus events can connect promotion with logistics as your audience looks to find their way.
- Accessibility Features: Include technical basics like high contrast and keyword-based navigation, as well as content-based functionality like the above-mentioned accessible parking spots, restrooms, walking paths, and more.
- Customizable Layers: Narrow down the complexity of the overall campus for audiences specifically looking for Family Weekend-related information.
- Points of Interest (POI) Markers: These help families spend their leisure time between events to go exploring.
- Interactive Elements: These include social media integrations and live data feeds. Help turn your campus map from a static wayfinding tool into the dynamic and immersive tool that modern audiences prefer to engage with.
- Mobile Accessibility: Ensure that the map is just as easy to use on the go for audiences who are more likely to pull it up without a desktop computer in reach.
- Virtual Tours: Help to get families excited about the weekend through the power of 3D images. Provide 360-degree views of buildings and facilities on campus.
How Do I Create an Interactive Campus Map?
Interactive maps with features as extensive as those mentioned above are almost impossible to create from scratch. Fortunately, that step is also not necessary. Technology teams like Concept3D have built comprehensive solutions that enable higher education institutions to build powerful campus maps specifically designed to engage audiences and help events like Family Weekend succeed.
Prepare Your Interactive Map for Family Weekend With Concept3D
Family Weekend is one of the most important events during the year. Campus administrators must be mindful of audiences that don’t know much about the campus. Interactive maps can help communicate important space-based information efficiently and successfully to all relevant audiences.
That’s where Concept3D comes in. Our map solution is optimized for higher education. It integrates seamlessly with our virtual tour and calendar tools to create an immersive, interactive, and fun online experience for students and their families. Request a demo to learn how Concept3D can help you make the next Family Weekend a success.