On September 24, the Aberdeen (Scotland) Young Professionals held for the very first time a virtual field trip presented by award winning lecturer, Garry F. Hayes. This e-Symposium took attendees on a journey through some of North America’s most scenic national parks including the Grand Canyon and provided a comprehensive, yet light hearted geological history of these fascinating landscapes. The trip travelled from the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, and to the towering spires of Bryce Canyon and provided a remarkably detailed history of the North American continent from the Early Proterozoic to Holocene times. The stunning landscapes certainly whetted our appetite for a real field trip (coincidentally, the real trip will take place in May 2015). The event was attended by about 25 people & was open to YPs in Aberdeen; everyone was encouraged to bring along friends and colleagues.
The event started off with snacking around 6.30 pm, allowing some time for networking prior to the start of the e-Symposium. The crowd were led into the function room just before 7 pm to kick start of the virtual field trip by Sam McLay, AAPG YP Lead for the European Region. A quick introduction was given by Sam with regards to the concept of Virtual Field Trip as this is a relatively new concept for the AAPG, with most attendees having never attended an event akin to one like this. Special mention and thanks to Peter Heath for coordinating the technical part of the event with Susan Nash, AAPG Tulsa. We’re grateful to Susan’s department for allowing us to use the material in the AAPG e-Symposium as part of YP activities and at the same time we hope we’re able to promote not only the AAPG to the YPs but also the Field Trip organized by AAPG.
The Virtual Field Trip ran just under an hour and Sam took the opportunity to answer any related questions as the closing ceremony. We hope that e-symposia will be a trend in the near future and AAPG YP Aberdeen Chapter is very happy to host it again.
If you are interested in finding out more about AAPG’s e-Symposia, the please check out the training section of the AAPG website. http://www.aapg.org/career/training/online/e-symposia#105941728-archives
For more information, please contact , Ph.D., Director of Education and Professional Development, AAPG or email an .