When the Delaware Geological Survey (DGS) recently distributed Earth Science Week teacher kits at Coast Day, attendees dug right in.
“All were gone within a matter of a few hours,” David R.Wunsch, DGS director and state geologist, said. “Several teachers were overwhelmed because they had been looking for this type of information.”
The educational tools included posters, maps, a school-year activity calendar, teacher lessons and exercises, literature, work plans and hands-on experiments for all ages. A computer program also handed out was designed to help students learn about earth science and how it impacts their daily lives.
The teacher kits were furnished by the American Geoscience Institute (AGI), which organizes Earth Science Week annually during the second full week in October. This year the celebration fell Oct. 14-20, exploring the theme of “Discovering Careers in the Earth Sciences.”
The toolkit provided students with the opportunity to learn about careers in the geosciences, the geologic time scale, GIS and climate science. Content was developed by the National Park Service, NASA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Esri and professional geoscientific societies.
Giving away the kits at Coast Day, sponsored by the College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment and Delaware Sea Grant on Oct. 7, was just one of the activities carried out at UD in celebration of Earth Science Week. DGS obtained a governor’s proclamation, reprinted below, and several staff gave presentations about earth science at local schools.
Friday, Oct. 19, of Earth Science Week has been designated Geologic Map Day, where information and links on the Earth Science Week website provide clues for teachers, as well as the general public, to find out what the geology is beneath