The U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) is actively involved in partnerships with local schools as an educational resource for teachers. Part of the mission of the USGS is to improve the public understanding of earth science-- the most fundamental way to accomplish this is education at all levels.
Over the past ten years scientists of the N.C. District have visited over 100 elementary and middle school classes to talk about geology and hydrology. Topics of the presentations included: rocks and minerals,
earthquakes and volcanoes, weathering, water quality, and maps. The
presentations are centered around hands-on activities. For example
the rocks and minerals demonstration includes a classification
exercise using rocks collected by the class, or rocks brought in by
the USGS scientist.
Glowing Rocks Demonstration
The volcanoes and earthquake presentation includes an earthquake
experiment, devised to show how different soil conditions effect
earthquake damage. The water-quality demonstration includes a
ground-water flow model with which the students can observe effects
of ground-water contamination.
Earthquake Experiment
In a
partnership with the Ed Hudson's Oyster Aquaculture class at Dixon
High School in Sneads Ferry, USGS scientists are helping to monitor
salinity in the sound behind North Topsail Beach. The monitor was
lost for a while after Hurricane Fran until the class, as a group,
fanned out to search the Sound. They found it, still recording, and
full of some rather dramatic data.
USGS scientists have also worked
closely with Guilford County teachers and UNC-Greensboro to help
provide K-5 teachers with hands-on activities about water quality,
wetlands, and hydrology. The USGS sponsored a teacher-training
conference in September 1996, and has an ongoing project to develop a
curriculum about wetlands and water quality with several Greensboro
schools.
In April 1995 The Raleigh Office of the USGS held an
open house for the community, and sponsored visits by local schools.
The open house included demonstrations of water-quality sampling
equipment, flow metering gear, subsurface geophysical equipment,
talks about ongoing scientific studies, job opportunities in the
earth sciences, computer analysis tools, and hands-on activities on
rocks, water-quality, earthquakes, and biology. Another open house is
planned for April 1998.
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