NPS - Earth Science Week Events

Acadia National Park
As part of our regular schedule we will offer several geologic programs during Earth Science Week.
Our Environmental Education district maintains a geology resource kit available for local teachers as well as a small library of printed materials for use by local educators.

Additionally, we have designed a teacher's guide to Acadia that devotes an entire chapter to the Geology of Mount Desert Island, ME. The teacher's guide is a sale item.

Acadia National Park maintains a geology webpage entitled Written in the Rocks

Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument
We're offering tours of Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument during Earth Science Week. Our tours cover earth science and geology, since that's how the flint got here.

Craters of the Moon National Park
SPECIAL GEOLOGY HIKE TO BE HELD AT CRATERS OF THE MOON TO CELEBRATE EARTH SCIENCE WEEK

For Earth Science Week, a special geology program will be held at Craters of the Moon National Monument. The program will start with a 45-minute presentation at the visitor center followed by field visits to several sites in the park in order to see a broad cross section of the features present within the monument. The park geologist will lead the hike and participants will learn about the volcanic features and processes in greater depth than normally presented to the public. The special program will start at 9 AM and will meet at the visitor center. The hike will last until about 3 PM and participants will need to bring a lunch to be eaten out in field. The hike will be moderately strenuous, cover about 4 miles, and involve some off-trail hiking (sturdy shoes or preferably hiking boots are required). At least one lava tube (cave) involving a crouch will be investigated and will require participants to have flashlights. The group size will be limited to 15 people and reservations are required. Call (208) 527-3257 X302 to make a reservation or to obtain further information.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Earth Science Fair - Sunday, October 12
1-5 p.m., Brushwood Shelter, Furnace Run Metro Park

Celebrate natural wonders during National Earth Science Week by discovering and exploring the world above, on, and beneath the earth's surface. Experience earth science exhibits, games, demonstrations, and talks during this afternoon of family fun. Learn about the different geologic materials and soils found in Ohio and how they interact with plants, animals, land use, air, water, and pollution. The fair will give children the opportunity to earn a Junior Ranger badge as they learn about CVNP's landscapes. Check out this year’s theme, “Our Changing World,” on www.nature.nps.gov/grd/esw and www.earthsciweek.org. Park rangers, naturalists, and scientists from around the state will participate in this an indoor/outdoor (rain-or-shine) joint program with the National Park Service and Metro Parks, Serving Summit County. Partners in the program include USEPA, Ohio EPA, USDA Regional Soil & Water Conservation Districts, Akron Regional Air Pollution Agency, Regional Health Districts, Northeast Ohio Four County Planning & Development Organization, The University of Akron and Kent State University Geology Departments, and others. Teacher and student handouts will be available.

For more information, call (330) 865-8065 or
contact Park Ranger Tom Nash: tom_nash@nps.gov

Guadalupe Mountains National Park
A temporary display featuring areas of geologic interest in the park and surrounding area that can be driven to will be up during Earth Science Week. The display highlights the recent designation of a stratotype and the park's role as a research area for geoscientists. Free brochures and fossil guides will also be distributed.

Haleakala National Park
Being a geology park, most of our daily naturalist talks (9:30, 10:30 & 11:30) will be on geology or biology of Haleakala. Our 2-hour hikes usually cover some geology or biology but could also be on cultural history.

Herbert Hoover National Historic Site
Demonstrations of an Enviroscape model, ground water model, and stream table have been arranged for schools in the West Branch, Iowa area. Students will come to the park and do a riparian function assessment and run water quality tests, according to IOWATER protocol.

Students will then select a project, based on the models and experiences they had during the week. They will host a community-wide water fair, displaying their projects and poster sessions, at the end of the semester. As in past Earth Science Weeks , Herbert Hoover National Historic Site plans to highlight their USGS stage gague and its real-time data.

Mount Rainier National Park
Mount Rainier National Park is 104 years old. If you were to make a birthday cake for Mount Rainier, this one might be apropriate. Bake a Mount Rainier Birthday Cake!

Petrified Forest National Park
RANGER PROGRAMS
Triassic Park, 11:00am every day. Join a ranger for a program at Rainbow Forest Museum to learn about petrified wood and the Triassic environment.
Geology Hike, 10:00am every day, check for location at the visitor centers. Join a ranger for a walk through Blue Mesa or the Painted Desert and learn about the geology that has shaped this landscape for over 200 million years.

SCAVENGER HUNT
Have fun learning about Petrified Forest National Park by answering some questions and then entering your name into a free drawing for 7 grand prizes. Ask for details at Painted Desert Visitor Center or Rainbow Forest Museum.

DISPLAYS AND EXHIBITS
Hands-on exhibits at Painted Desert Visitor Center allow you to touch and feel rocks and fossils found at Petrified Forest National Park. An audio-visual presentation at Rainbow Forest Museum shows how paleontologists excavate a fossil Aetosaur. Other exhibits at Rainbow Forest Museum include plant and animal fossils, replicated skeletons of Triassic animals, and artists’ renditions of the environment 225 million years ago at. For more information on any of these events visit www.nps.gov/pefo or call (928) 524-6228 ext 236.

Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site

Please call for more information 781 233-0050.

Shenandoah National Park
Shenandoah National Park with its rocky mountain peaks, forested hills, woodland streams, and abundant views, is the ideal location to study geology and the earth sciences. Welcome to a park filled with educational opportunities that focus on the earth sciences and natural resources of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Elementary Geology Program
Fifth grade teachers and students interested in learning the basic components and processes of geology are welcome to visit Shenandoah National Park on an education field trip. Students spend time in the field learning about basic rock types, identifying physical and chemical weathering processes, relating biology to rock type, and enjoying time spent in a national park. Please call Shenandoah National Park’s Education Office at 540-999-3489 to learn more about bringing a group of students on a ranger-led, geology program. It’s guaranteed that after this field trip, your students will be asking for more!

Exploring Earth Science Curriculum
Shenandoah National Park, the United States Geological Survey, and local teachers have worked together to create a self-guiding curriculum on the earth sciences of Shenandoah National Park. Exploring Earth Science in Shenandoah National Park – A Curriculum Guide for Grades 7-12 is a book filled with geologic information, self-guiding activities, and natural and cultural information as it relates to Shenandoah National Park.

In this curriculum, students address real problems and concerns. They learn how the geology of a mountain affects the plant growth of that area. View how flooding changed a stream ecosystem and how that stream and its inhabitants are recovering. Visit a disappearing stream and tour a cave and discover how these are connected. Climb a mountain and analyze the plants, animals, and geology along the way. Learn how professionals go about gathering, developing, and using information and how to judge the value of the results. This curriculum is aligned with both the National and Virginia Science Standards of Learning. But most importantly, the curriculum was developed by teachers and field-tested by students. This is an opportunity to expand the walls of learning to immerse the students in the everyday environment – taking them to a classroom without walls. Contact Shenandoah National Park’s Education Office at 540-999-3489 to learn how you and your students can be part of this learning experience.