The Earth Science Week Update
EARTH SCIENCE WEEK UPDATE
American Geosciences Institute
Vol. 6, No. 3: March 2008
IN THIS ISSUE…
* Plan Activities Now for Earth Science Week 2008
* Check Out Upcoming Movie’s Trailer and Educator Guide
* Earth Science Teachers Get Professional Development Online
* Free CD Explores “Earth Observations from Space”
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Plan Activities Now for
Earth Science Week 2008
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Earth Science Week (Oct. 12-18) won’t take place for months -
so now is the perfect time to start planning your activities. Don’t
wait until the hectic first weeks of the next school year. Take this
opportunity to make a wish list: How would you like your students celebrate
Earth Science Week 2008?
You can promote this year’s theme - “No Child Left Inside”
- by planning outdoor activities to help your students learn Earth science
firsthand. Whether you schedule a fieldtrip or simply explore the playground,
you can find Earth science anywhere there’s earth, water, and sky.
Maybe your students can record observations of cloud patterns or dig
up fossil evidence of past life. Conduct activities featured on the
Earth Science Week website at
http://www.earthsciweek.org.
Last year, Arizona’s Petrified Forest National Park organized
special events on the park’s geology, including hands-on exhibits
and guided tours. The Illinois State Geological Survey took students
on a Geological Science Field Trip at Pere Marquette State Park. And
a “Rock Hounds Unite!” Geology Day was held at the North Branch
Nature Center in Montpelier, Vermont, including mini-fieldtrips led
by professional geologists. For more ideas, read about successful past
events at
http://www.earthsciweek.org/highlights/index.html or see recommendations
at http://www.earthsciweek.org/forplanners/index.html.
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Check Out Upcoming Movie’s
Trailer and Educator Guide
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Would your students follow movie star Brendan Fraser to the center
of the Earth? Many of them, no doubt, will do just that when “Journey
to the Center of the Earth 3D” hits theaters on July 11.
You can help prepare them for the journey with the upcoming Educator
Guide, a free booklet of exciting activities and information using the
movie as a touchstone for exploration of “science fact and science
fiction.” The Educator Guide is being crafted by Walden Media,
which is producing this update of the Jules Verne classic, in collaboration
with the American Geosciences Institute (AGI), organizer of Earth Science
Week.
Additional details on “Journey 3D” educational opportunities,
including the Educator Guide and possible related events, will be made
available in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, to view the movie trailer,
see
http://www.trailerspy.com/movie-trailers/view/399/journey-to-the-center-of-the-earth-3d-trailer/
online.
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Earth Science Teachers Get
Professional Development Online
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Looking for tailored professional development, made easy? Look no further
than GeoScience Connections, a new set of online graduate courses offered
by AGI and the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT).
GeoScience Connections is designed specifically to increases science
teachers’ knowledge of Earth system science and inquiry-based science
instruction. Focusing on interactions among Earth systems - geosphere,
biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, and exosphere - courses
incorporate hands-on and technology-based teaching techniques. Available
are courses on Fossils, Weather and Climate, and Soils and Landforms.
Each course provides 3 graduate credits from IIT. Visit
http://www.cpd.iit.edu/shortcourse/PLED571.html to learn more.
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Free CD Explores “Earth
Observations from Space”
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Observations from space over the past 50 years have fundamentally transformed
the way people view the Earth. The National Research Council report
“Earth Observations from Space” describes how satellites have
revolutionized Earth studies and ushered in a new era of multidisciplinary
Earth sciences.
Since the launch of Sputnik I in 1957, thousands of satellites have
been sent into space on missions to collect data about the Earth. Today,
the ability to forecast weather, climate, and natural hazards depends
critically on these satellite-based observations.
In particular, the ability to gather satellite images frequently enough
to create “movies” of the changing planet is improving our
understanding of Earth’s dynamic processes and helping society
to manage limited resources and environmental challenges. To learn more
or order free copies of the report’s companion CD while supplies
last, see http://dels.nas.edu/basc/earthobservations/
online.
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The American Geosciences Institute is a nonprofit federation of 44 geoscientific
and professional associations that represents more than 120,000 geologists,
geophysicists, and other earth scientists. Founded in 1948, AGI provides
information services to geoscientists, serves as a voice of shared interests
in the profession, plays a major role in strengthening geoscience education,
and strives to increase public awareness of the vital role the geosciences
play in society's use of resources and interaction with the environment.
For contact information, please visit
http://www.earthsciweek.org/contactus/index.html.
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