Cell phones, watches, cars…it’s becoming easier and easier to find devices with Global Positioning Systems (GPS).

And on Wednesday afternoon, the City of College Station invited residents to come out and discover other uses for a GPS device besides just finding a restaurant.

As part of GIS Day – which is short for Geographic Information Systems – the city hosted a number of events to show residents numerous other ways GPS is used.

“Every department uses GIS in one way or another,” said City of College Station GIS Coordinator Brett Blanker. “More and more data these days are being tied to maps. For example, we use GIS to draw streets for future development and maintenance, then the police department can use those maps to create crime statistics, and so on.”

One event allowed participants to get very hands on using GIS and GPS in a big game of hide-and-go-seek. Close to 60 residents were introduced to geocaching, in which a person uses GPS coordinates to locate an object that was hidden by another person. Once that object is located, the finder then can add another object to the container and leave it for the next searcher, which is usually in a Tupperware or weatherproof box.

Participants used GPS devices to locate hidden objects throughout Wolf Pen Creek Park, which the city said had already been placed by other geocaching enthusiasts and were not hidden just for the event itself.

Other events included a map gallery, featuring ways GIS uses information to make different kind of maps, and a town hall style meeting during which more in-depth information concerning GIS was covered.

The city said it organized the day’s events -- which is also recognized or celebrated by 80 other countries -- as a way to only encourage citizens to get out-and-about, try new hobbies, and have the opportunity to have one-on-one time with some of their local city officials.

The city said the day was such a success, that they plan on expanding the event next year and are already working to collaborate with Texas A&M on other activities. The city also is planning to organize more geocaching outings in the near future.