© 2026 ABC News

\"I had to think of something we could do. It's his last birthday before he's a teenager,\" Jody Smith of League City, Texas, told \"Good Morning America.\" \"Knowing his interest in maps, I figure reach out on Twitter. Thought we'd get 50 to 100 replies. Obviously it blew up more than that.\"

\"PHOTO:
Jody Smith
PHOTO: Brandon Smith, who turned 12 years old Saturday, April 11, usually marks the occasion by playing golf or going to an amusement park with his father, Jody Smith. Instead, Brandon decided to draw a world map and asked Twitter users to join the fun.
>
\"PHOTO:
Jody Smith
PHOTO: With help from his dad, a geography fan named Brandon Smith of League City, Texas, found a creative way to celebrate his birthday in quarantine while engaging with people around the world.
>

Smith said the request went viral after Mark Hamill, who is best known for playing Luke Skywalker in the \"Star Wars\" films, sent \"Greetings from Malibu, California,\" to Brandon via Twitter.

Greetings from Malibu, California, USA from your pal, Mar🐫

— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) April 11, 2020

Brandon is still working on his map. Thanks again to all of you for taking the time to support him pic.twitter.com/hhAT0dJFNc

— Jody Smith (@JodySmithNFL) April 13, 2020

Brandon has received friendly messages from people as far as Tasmania and Antarctica.

\"PHOTO:
Jody Smith
PHOTO: Brandon Smith, 12, of League City, Texas, asked Twitter to help fill his world map after being stuck at home due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
>

\"He says its all very exciting,\" Smith said of his son. \"People taking time to send pictures and videos has been really nice.\"

The Walt Disney company is the parent company of ABC News.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Family/12-year-geography-fan-stuck-indoors-birthday-fills/story?id=70116561","legacySlug":"/family/story/12-year-geography-fan-stuck-indoors-birthday-fills-70116561","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"19:09","publishDate":"04-13-2020","updatedTime":"11:24","updatedDate":"04-16-2020","socialImage":{"alt":"Brandon Smith, 12, of League City, Texas, asked Twitter to help fill his world map after being stuck at home due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.","credit":"Jody Smith","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/geography-fan-stuck-indoors-birthday-ht-MAIN-200413_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"4/13/2020 19:09:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":70116561,"headline":"How Twitter helped a boy celebrate his birthday ","mediaAssetTitle":"BOY GEOGRAPHY TWITTER","description":"In two days, the sixth grader received over 100,000 replies.","duration":"0:47","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/04/200410_gma_digital_grad_doors_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["69965749","70117841","70043362"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"April 7, 2020","headline":"Interest in home births spikes amid coronavirus: What expectant moms need to know","section":"wellness","slug":"/wellness/story/interest-home-births-spikes-amid-coronavirus-expectant-moms-69965749","id":69965749,"image":{"alt":"Interest in home births spikes amid coronavirus: What expectant moms need to know","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/gty_pregnant_woman_wg_150929_hpMain_4_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"STOCK PHOYTO/Getty Images","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"April 13, 2020","headline":"Nurse who treats COVID-19 patients performs chilling rendition of 'Amazing Grace'","section":"wellness","slug":"/wellness/story/nurse-treats-covid-19-patients-performs-chilling-rendition-70117841","id":70117841,"image":{"alt":"Nurse who treats COVID-19 patients performs chilling rendition of 'Amazing Grace'","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/200413_gma_roberts1_hpMain_1x1_240.jpg","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"April 13, 2020","headline":"Parents decorate doors for high school seniors missing graduation amid pandemic","section":"family","slug":"/family/story/parents-decorate-doors-high-school-seniors-missing-graduation-70043362","id":70043362,"image":{"alt":"Parents decorate doors for high school seniors missing graduation amid pandemic","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/Parrisparents-decorate-doors-high-school-seniors-covid-ht-04-np-200410hFamily_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Parrish family","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"How Twitter helped a boy celebrate his birthday ","description":"In two days, the sixth grader received over 100,000 replies.","duration":"0:47","uploadDate":"04-13-2020","publication":"04-13-2020","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/04/200410_gma_digital_grad_doors_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/04/200410_gma_digital_grad_doors_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/family/story/12-year-geography-fan-stuck-indoors-birthday-fills-70116561"}},"playlist":[{"id":"133810954","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133779647","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133810835","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133749799","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133777519","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133748258","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133730535","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133712423","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133694181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133688738","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616358","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616342","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133522899","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133584123","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133579397","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133482839","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133390157","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133415361","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133414032","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133380485","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:family:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"family","title":"How Twitter helped a boy celebrate his birthday ","pubTime":"15:09","pubDate":"04-13-2020","modTime":"07:24","modDate":"04-16-2020","taxonomyTags":"none","id":70116561,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"How Twitter helped a boy celebrate his birthday ","mediaAssetTitle":"BOY GEOGRAPHY TWITTER","videoId":70116561,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/family/story/12-year-geography-fan-stuck-indoors-birthday-fills-70116561"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/70116561","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/70116561","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};