Energy companies are currently challenged to find enough skilled workers to fill open positions. Maersk has developed a digital game – “Quest for Oil” – to stimulate interest in energy careers.
Earth Science Week 2013 Toolkits are available for advance orders now! The kit contains everything you need to prepare for Earth Science Week (October 13-19, 2013), which celebrates the theme “Mapping Our World.” Quoted from the AGI announcement.
“The Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) [...] offers many education materials and opportunities for science teachers and students at all grade levels. Their online “Teacher Friendly Guide” gives brief geologic histories of every region of the United States. Also available online are photos and descriptions of the museum’s fossil collections.” Quoted from the Earth Science Week Newsletter.
Since 1972 the “Roadside Geology” series has provided introductory information on the geology of states and small regions of the United States.
The books provide a combination of maps, travel logs, photos and commentary for the geology that can be seen along highways or visited at parks and public viewing areas. They are popular with geologists, teachers, students and others who are interested in the Earth.
Earth Science Week 2013 Toolkits are available for advance orders now! The kit contains everything you need to prepare for Earth Science Week (October 13-19, 2013), which celebrates the theme “Mapping Our World.” Quoted from the American Geosciences Institute announcement.
Geology.com and RockTumbler.com are both GeoShops.com websites.
Lots of people enjoy going to fee mining sites where you can prospect inactive surface mines, mine tailings, soil, sediments or outcrops and keep any rocks, gems, minerals or fossils that you find. Examples include: Herkimer Diamond Mines where you can search for doubly-terminated quartz crystals, and Crater of Diamonds where you might be lucky enough to find a real diamond.
“Museum CEO George Sparks says along with all the resumes he got from Ph.D.s there was one applicant with just a third-grade education. [...] Along with his hand-written, three-page cover letter, he attached a letter of recommendation from his teacher.”
The National Science Foundation is awarding grants to universities with science and math education programs. These grants can be used to fund scholarships for students enrolled in teacher preparation programs who are willing to commit to teaching four years in a high-needs school district. As an example…. one recently funded program provided over $1,000,000 to support scholarships for 30 undergraduate students and will supplement their salary during their four-year teaching commitment.
The Caltech Engineering and Science magazine has two interesting articles about the career paths of geoscience professionals…. Beyond Rocks about John Eiler and The Molecular Geomicrobiologist about Dianne Newman. Check them out.
Troglobites are small creatures that have adapted to a permanent life in a cave. They are so well adapted to life in a cave that they would be unable to survive in the surface environment. To survive in the darkness troglobites have highly-developed senses of hearing, touch and smell.
NASA has a series of videos titled: “How to Do a Science Fair Project”. These step you through the processes of research, planning, testable questions, experiment design, interpreting data and presenting your results.
The Smithsonian has collected more than 142 million objects. From rocks to rockets, from baseball cards to brontosaurus bones. That puts them in a great position to advise kids who want to start collecting rocks, minerals, fossils or other interesting objects.
The Indiana Geological Survey website has an activity titled “Assessing Potential Seismic Risks of Indiana Urban Populations” that is intended for middle school and high school students. This activity utilizes the IndianaMap online geographic information system to obtain information about historic earthquakes and make conclusions about earthquake hazards in Indiana’s urban areas.
Many other state surveys and the USGS Earthquake Hazards program have historical earthquake data available that could be used to create similar assignments. (Find USGS data for your state.)
Middle school students in Texas study dinosaur trackways to learn about the environment and behavior of dinosaurs. The trackway along the shoreline of Grapevine Lake is usually under water but is currently exposed because of a drought.
SciNews has posted materials to help K-12 teachers prepare lessons about the Mars Rover “Curiosity”. It includes educator background materials, videos, images, observation/data collection sheet, computer-aided exploration sheet, alternative lesson ideas, standards correlation.
“Celebrate the inaugural “Geologic Map Day” on October 19, as a part of the Earth Science Week 2012 activities. Geologic maps are important for education, science, business, and public policy concerns. Geologic Map Day will focus the attention of students, teachers, and the general public on the study, uses, and significance of these tools by engaging audiences through educational activities, print materials, online resources, and public outreach opportunities.” Quoted from the USGS Newsroom.
Science teachers often spend a lot of money out-of-pocket to provide hands-on materials for their students. With a little work they can often get several hundred dollars of support from generous donors through DonorsChoose.org.
If you would like to help a teacher you can pick a project at DonorsChoose.org and easily contribute any amount that you want. Lots of teachers there are asking for rock and mineral kits, water testing supplies, a microscope or science books. Check it out. You can help!
One of the most spectacular museum exhibits is a darkroom filled with fluorescent rocks and minerals that are illuminated with ultraviolet light. They glow with an amazing array of vibrant colors – in sharp contrast to the color of the rocks under conditions of normal illumination.
USGS offers .pdf copies of “This Dynamic Planet” for free viewing on the web. You can zoom in and get a really close look at plate boundaries, earthquake locations, volcano locations, and much more. They also have paper copies for sale in the USGS store for just $14.00.
“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency offers a climate education web site for students, teachers, and school administrators, including information and activities related to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.” From the Earth Science Week newsletter.
Earth Science Week has released their Newsletter for August, 2012. It has lots of teaching ideas for K-12 teachers to use during Earth Science Week (October 14-20, 2012) or at any time.
* Ordering Earth Science Week Toolkits
* AGI’s New Center for Geoscience Education
* National Fossil Day Contest
* Papers on Climate by Pre-College Students
* Earth Science Week 2012 Contest
* Fourth Annual Women in Geosciences Day
* Learn How to Protect Your Groundwater
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Homeowners Insurance usually does not cover damage caused by floods, landslides, earthquakes and other geohazards.
Frac Sand is a high-purity silica sand used in hydraulic fracturing to enhance the flow of oil and gas from tight rock units.
Diamonds from Coal? Diamonds form under a variety of conditions that rarely involve coal as a source of carbon.
Fluorescent Minerals glow with spectacular colors when illuminated in the dark with an ultraviolet lamp.
Helium is a byproduct of the natural gas industry. Its most important use is in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines.
Canada Diamond Mines: Canada is the third largest producer of gem-quality diamonds in the world.
Utica Shale: New wells in eastern Ohio prove that the Utica Shale will be a major source of natural gas and natural gas liquids.
Spectacular Fossils of the Green River Formation. Some of the world's best-preserved fossil fish from an intermountain lake.
Opals: Gem quality opal is one of the most spectacular gemstones. A single stone can flash with every color of the spectrum.
