The Earth Science Week Update
EARTH SCIENCE WEEK UPDATE
American Geosciences Institute
Vol. 5, No. 7: October 2007
IN THIS ISSUE…
* Earth Science Week 2007 a Roaring Success
* New Website Takes “Pulse” of Earth Science Education
* Earth Science Week Contest Winners, Finalists Announced
* EarthCachers Worldwide Kicked Off Weeklong Event
* “Faces of Earth” TV Series Now Available on DVD
* Earth Science Week Toolkits Selling Out in Record Time
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Earth Science Week 2007
A Roaring Success
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Record numbers of people gained a new awareness of the geosciences
through the 10th annual Earth Science Week, held Oct. 14-20. More than
2 million people worldwide learned about Earth science through program
promotions, education efforts, or media coverage, according to preliminary
estimates. The event celebrated the theme “The Pulse of Earth Science”
by encouraging students, teachers, and the public to take stock of strides
made in the geosciences during the past decade. Earth Science Week events
ranged from individual teachers and classrooms completing in-class Earth
science projects to open houses at major USGS field stations.
As in past years, visitors to Baltimore’s Maryland Science Center
were greeted and treated to a fun introduction to the geosciences by
AGI staff throughout Earth Science Week. AGI staff were on hand to discuss
Earth science, distribute educational materials, and conduct brief experiments
and demonstrations with children. Visitors were invited to construct
their own “earthquake-proof” structure and stomp their feet
to register tremors on a real seismometer (courtesy of IRIS, an Earth
Science Week program partner). They also viewed “Why Earth Science,”
a brief educational video newly created by AGI as an introduction to
the geosciences.
The weeklong celebration was covered by scores of newspapers, television
stations, websites, and other media outlets, from the Los Angeles Times
to NBC. In one of the week’s most highly visible instances of publicity
for the event, two of Baltimore’s leading television weather forecasters
- CBS’s Bob Turk and NBC’s Tom Tasselmyer - each devoted a
few minutes of a daily weather forecast to promoting participation in
Earth Science Week. Viewers throughout the region saw Turk and Tasselmyer
hold up Earth Science Week T-shirts, explain ways to participate, and
learned how they could find join the celebration at the Maryland Science
Center.
In addition, events and outreach efforts reached many people nationwide.
The University of Connecticut Center for Integrative Geosciences held
a day-long Earth Science Week Celebration highlighting geoscience processes
through hands-on activities for all ages, showing Earth science movies,
hosting a “bring your own rock to be identified” table, walking
field trips around campus, and offering demonstrations. Texas teachers,
students, and scouts attended the North Texas Earth Science Fair to
view mineral, fossil, and gem exhibits. The Alaska Geological Society
guided elementary-school students in a hands-on activity that simulated
buying prospects, mining, and reclaiming land.
International participation was significant also. Students demonstrated
their Earth science knowledge in Geoscience Australia’s inaugural
Geologi short film competition, the University of British Columbia’s
Pacific Museum of the Earth held an open house, and geoscience scholars
and students attended a series of lectures and videos at the Universidad
Nacional de San Luis in Argentina.
Learn more about Earth Science Week at
http://www.earthsciweek.org. If you conducted a special activity to celebrate Earth Science Week,
please let us know. Your activity will be featured in the Earth Science
Week 2007 Highlights Report, which will be posted online and used to
help secure support for the program in the future. Email information,
news clips, and images to info@earthsciweek.org.
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New Website Takes “Pulse”
Of Earth Science Education
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“The Pulse of Earth Science” is not only the theme of Earth
Science Week 2007, but also the name of AGI’s new website tracking
Earth science education nationwide. The site, which launched earlier
this month, offers detailed, up-to-date information on the status of
geoscience education in every state, as well as guidance for advocates.
For each state, AGI provides the most recent available data on:
* teacher certification requirements and numbers teaching related subjects;
* relevant courses that middle and high school students must take;
* K-12 enrollment levels in Earth science and related subjects;
* coverage of Earth science within state science standards;
* state assessment of students in Earth science;
* textbooks adopted and relevance of relevance to Earth science; and
* contact information for state education agencies.
The website features findings that many are likely to find surprising.
While every state but Iowa includes Earth science in education standards,
this priority seldom carries through to curriculum requirements or high
school exit exams, for example. Only about one in five states offers
Earth science as an elective within overall science requirements, and
North Carolina is the only state requiring an Earth science course for
graduation.
“The Pulse of Earth Science” also offers an Advocacy Guide,
including recommendations for taking action within your state and local
school systems. Partner with other Earth science supporters, influence
decisionmakers, and ensure that your students get the Earth science
education they deserve.
The information presented is based on available data collected from
numerous sources. Viewers are invited to help update information by
contacting AGI at aeb@agiweb.org.
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Earth Science Week Contest
Winners, Finalists Announced
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Andrew Burkus of Columbus, Georgia, won first place in this year’s
Earth Science Week photo contest with his picture of travertine deposits
at Minerva Terrace in Yellowstone National Park. Finalists were Dawn
Barrett, Josh Edelson, Diana Greenbaum, Jamie Held, and Rebecca Mehling.
Submissions illustrated the theme “People Discovering Earth’s
Treasures.”
Jay Purohit of Plano, Texas, won first place in the visual arts contest
with his poster about the many aspects of our evolving planet. Finalists
were Hector Chu, Rama Imad, Emily Pritham, Vanessa Rodriquez, and April
Ye. Students in grades K-5 made a drawing, collage, or other two-dimensional
artwork illustrating the theme “Changing Earth.”
Shanniqua Mendiola of Yigo, Guam, won first place in the essay contest
with her writing about Earth science on her island home. Finalists were
Cody Byrd, Benjamin Gastfriend, Avery Rasmussen, Dylan Rozier, and Moniyka
Sachar. Students grades 6-9 wrote essays of up to 300 words addressing
this year’s theme, “Earth Science In My Community.”
Congratulations to the winners, all our finalists, and the nearly 1,200
students and others who entered. Each first-place winner will receive
$300 and a one-year subscription to AGI’s Geotimes magazine. Entries
submitted by winners and finalists may be viewed at
http://www.earthsciweek.org/contests/index.html.
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EarthCachers Worldwide
Kicked Off Weeklong Event
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Geocachers around the globe fired up their GPS units on Sunday, Oct.
14 , and celebrated the beginning of Earth Science Week 2007. Instead
of searching for buried trinkets at ordinary geocache sites, however,
GPS enthusiasts set their coordinates for EarthCaches and discovered
Earth’s natural treasures. Oct. 14 marked the second annual International
EarthCache Day.
“Every week, thousands of people are out with GPS units hunting
for loot in hidden geocache boxes,” said Gary Lewis, director of
education and outreach for the Geological Society of America (GSA).
“With EarthCaching, they’re field geologists for a day. They
have a great time exploring some of Earth’s most beautiful features
without disturbing the land.”
Lewis explains that EarthCaching is an educational twist on the hugely
successful game of geocaching. EarthCachers begin by registering and
selecting a site to visit from www.earthcache.org. After arriving at
the chosen location via GPS technology, they perform a task specified
on the EarthCaching site, such as measuring the size of fossils or height
of a waterfall. Participants often take photos of the site, themselves,
or their companions, then later log their experience and photos on the
website.
GSA established the EarthCache program in 2004. According to Lewis,
participants have developed an additional 1,600 EarthCaches in 47 countries,
and more than 97,000 people have participated. For more information
on EarthCaching or International EarthCache Day, contact Lewis at
glewis@geosociety.org.
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“Faces of Earth” TV Series
Now Available on DVD
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The new, four-part television series “Faces of Earth” is
now available for order online from AGI at
http://www.agiweb.org/pubs/pubdetail.html?item=670110.
Produced by AGI and Evergreen Films in collaboration with The Science
Channel of Discovery Communications, Inc., the series reveals the natural
world through the perspectives of geoscientists, using computer-generated
imagery to show how humans are both a force of nature and a product
of our world.
Educators, students, and other viewers can explore the ways that the
forces of nature have continuously remade Earth through time, giving
it many distinct faces through history and many new ones into the future.
“Faces of Earth” is shot in striking high-definition with
extensive aerials, cutting edge animations, and engaging interviews
with leading geoscientists. The series premiered on The Science Channel
in July 2007. To learn more and watch trailers, visit http://www.facesofearth.tv.
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Earth Science Week Toolkits
Selling Out in Record Time
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More Earth Science Week Toolkits were distributed by the week of the
celebration this year than ever before. The number of AGI Member Societies
requesting complimentary Earth Science Week Toolkits for distribution
rose to 14. As in past years, Toolkits also were distributed through
program partners USGS, NASA, the National Park Service, the Association
of Science-Technology Centers, and the American Association of Petroleum
Geologists’ Student Chapters.
The complete Earth Science Week 2007 Toolkit includes:
* a 12-month school-year activity calendar, suitable for hanging;
* the new Earth Science Week poster, including an activity;
* a CD of geoscience fact sheets and other materials from USGS;
* an Earth science CD-ROM, postcards, and more from NASA;
* education materials, cloud chart, and careers info from NOAA;
* a CD on GIS technology and activities from ESRI;
* a microfossils poster from JOI Learning;
* a remote-sensing flyer from AmericaView;
* items from National Park Service, Smithsonian, and IRIS; and
* materials from groups such as AAPG, DLESE, AASG, and GSA.
Toolkits are selling out in record time. With only a handful of complete
Toolkits remaining, Earth Science Week 2007 Highlights Toolkits soon
will go on sale. The Highlights Toolkits, which typically are missing
only one or two items out of dozens of materials, will be offered at
roughly half off the original price. To order yours, go to
http://www.earthsciweek.org/materials/index.html.
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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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