October 23, 2015
Dutchess County Cold Case: Inspiring the New Geologist
Knowledge is power. Building a thirst for knowledge is objective of education. Using multi-sensory experiences promotes interest to further develop ideas and creates the desire to investigate, learn, and grow. The open air school room engages students to rely on their senses and intellects to explore new ways to acquire and apply information. Learning opportunities outside the classroom are shrinking in local schools due to a variety of reasons, though the main reasons are time and budget. This summer, I worked with Professor Susan Conrad at Dutchess Community College to build an interactive field trip guide for the “new Geologist”. With a target age group of middle school students, I constructed a narrative that invites the student to become a ‘Geology Detective’. The focus being to work a 4.56 billion year old cold case on how Dutchess County, New York geology was affected by the Taconic Orogeny. This project uses county and state parks as ‘fact finding points’ as these locations are well kept and user-friendly with well-marked trails and plenty of parking. Using the ArcGIS Story Map brings the field trip to life. Through this guide, the goal is to encourage student interest in the sciences by making Geology more accessible to all and to provide a fun, hands-on experience they can bring back to the classroom.
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