🌎 Google Earth Lab — Part 1

Learning to Fly — Search • Zoom • Move • Tilt • Reset • Street View

1. Start Google Earth

For the first few minutes, we are only going to learn how to fly.

1
Select the green button below.
OPEN GOOGLE EARTH ↗
2
Wait until you see the Earth.
3
Stop there. Do not worry about all the buttons yet.
Your screen may look a little different.

Google changes the screen occasionally. We are looking for the same basic tools: Search, the globe, 3D, Street View, and zoom controls.

EXPECTED RESULT: You can see the globe and move your mouse pointer over it.

2. Zoom In and Out

The mouse wheel moves you closer or farther away.

↕
ROLL THE WHEEL
Do not press it.
1
Put the mouse pointer over the United States.
2
Roll the wheel forward to move closer.
3
Roll the wheel backward to move farther away.

Try It

Start with most of Earth visible. Zoom toward the United States until you can recognize Texas. Then zoom back out.

TIP: Put your mouse pointer over the place you want to examine before you zoom.
EXPECTED RESULT: You can move closer and farther away without using the + and − buttons.

3. Move Around the Earth

Think of this as grabbing the Earth and moving it.

🖱️ ✋ 🌎

Hold the LEFT mouse button → Move the mouse → Let go

1
Point to the Earth.
2
Press and hold the left mouse button.
3
Move the mouse while continuing to hold the button.
4
Release the mouse button.

Try It

Move Texas completely off the screen. Then bring it back.

REMEMBER: Wheel = closer/farther.   Drag = move around.

5. Make the World 3D

This is where a flat map starts to feel like a place.

🏜️

Good practice location: Grand Canyon

Search for it, zoom in, and use the 3D control. You can also hold Shift + the left mouse button and drag to change the viewing angle.

1
Search for Grand Canyon.
2
Zoom in.
3
Select 3D if it is available on your screen.
4
Hold Shift and the left mouse button, then gently drag.
5
Try looking at the canyon from a different direction.
DON'T WORRY: It is very easy to get turned around. The next section shows how to recover.

6. 🛟 I Got Lost!

If the Earth is sideways, tilted strangely, or you have no idea where you are:

Press R

This resets the view.

Two other useful rescue keys

N   Put North at the top.
U   Return toward a straight-down view.

Try It on Purpose

Tilt and rotate the view until it looks confusing. Then press R.

EXPECTED RESULT: You know that you cannot easily “break” Google Earth just by moving the view around.

7. Street View — Stand on the Ground

So far we have looked down at Earth. Now we are going to stand on it.

Street View idea: look for the little person called Pegman.
👤
3D
+
−

Blue areas indicate places where Street View imagery is available.

1
Search for a familiar address or location.
2
Zoom in until streets are easy to see.
3
Find Pegman — the small person-shaped Street View control.
4
Select or drag Pegman. Look for streets or areas highlighted in blue.
5
Choose a blue location.
6
In Street View, drag the picture to look left, right, up, or down.
7
Select the arrows on the street to move along it.

Mission: Look Around

Stand somewhere in Street View. Turn around until you have looked in all four directions. Then move at least one position down the street.

Street View is not available everywhere. If you cannot find blue imagery at one location, try another street or a well-known landmark.
EXPECTED RESULT: You can enter Street View, look around, move along a street, and return to the normal Earth view.

Part 1 Complete

You now know enough to explore Google Earth on your own.

✓ Search for a place
✓ Zoom in and out
✓ Move around
✓ Use a 3D view
✓ Reset when lost
✓ Enter Street View

Next:

Now that you know how to fly…
let's go somewhere.

Part 2 can explore famous places, indoor locations, historical imagery, and the Google Earth “time machine.”

OPEN GOOGLE EARTH ↗