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Youth Education Activities Committee

What we do ...

To serve the youth of today and to help create the geoscientists of tomorrow. The members will strive to increase the knowledge and appreciation of the geosciences among students and teachers. These tasks will be accomplished by supporting the Maps in Schools Program, the Rocks in Your Head Initiative, and increased communication between AAPG members participating in K-12 outreach efforts. In addition, efforts are made toward facilitating the Earth Science Teacher of the Year Award and Teacher’s Days at national and section meetings. The Committee assists and coordinates earth science and energy programs of national youth organizations, such as Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and 4H. The committee coordinates these activites with other earth science organizations, such as AGI.

Goals for 2008-2009

1. YEA will roll out the Geoscientist's Professional Science Enrichment Handbook put together with AGI and partially funded by the AAPG Foundation (copies are going to be available for attendees of the leadership conference);
2. Revise the website to be a useable resource for AAPG members and teachers;
3. Build a network of past and present Teacher of the Year awardees with AAPG members to further facilitate classroom interactions;

The through going theme with all of these goals is communication. The YEA committee members are dedicated to make communication between K-12 outreach efforts of AAPG and other earth science organizations a priority. It is impossible to fully synthesize all the efforts. However, if as a committee we can divide our energies to try to be in touch with a school district, a teacher organization, the scouting efforts, the maps in schools project, the rocks in your head program, or an affiliated society then as a whole the K-12 effort will be improved.

Committee Report for 2007-08

AAPG and AGI Handbook

The image to the right is an example of the material provided in the Geoscience Professional’s Science Enrichment Handbook (CD’s are available). This document was intended to be a tool for AAPG members to use when asked to go into the K-12 Classroom. It provides suggestions, sample activities, and philosophical approach to getting young students fully engaged in the inquiry based exercises. Committee members that headed up this effort are Bob Krantz, Laura Zahm and Ann Bebow with AGI. Check it out ...

Rocks in Your Head and Maps in Schools Programs

The link between the two programs serves two purposes.

1. To provide the Tapestry of Time Geologic Map to K-12 schools nationwide and
2. To interface with Teacher workshops and aid geoscience based classroom materials.

The Maps in School Project has previously been supported only by GCAGS but hopes to expand to be supported by the AAPG Foundation and reach a larger geographical area. Committee members that are heading up this effort are Owen Hopkins and Denise Cox.

Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts

Significant progress has been made in recent years toward revising the Geoscience and energy related merit badge. Similar efforts are underway with the Girl Scout organization; this is the focus of committee members Joan Crockett and Nina Rach.

Earth Science Teacher of the Year Award

Mary Fitts of Denver, Co was the winner this year. There were four extremely well qualified candidates for the award this year. Hopefully, we will have six candidates (one from each section) for next year. Efforts are underway to create more of a community of award winners past and present. Through the YEA Web site AAPG members and Teacher of the Year winners can have regular communication to better their curriculum and improve classroom setting outreach as a whole. This effort is being headed by several members of the YEA committee.