On the 28th September 2022 the AAPG student chapter in Khalifa University had its first event; the KU Club Fair. The event was held on the main campus of Khalifa University, and it had booths of all the student clubs and chapters. The event's purpose was for the clubs and chapters to display and promote their programs to students, faculty, and staff so they could join. It was a huge success for the AAPG as it gained so much attraction, and we had over 30 new members join us.
Preparation of the booth was planned a few days before the event, during which AAPG members had a small meeting to discuss what they wanted to do in the event and what is the best way to promote the chapter. The main theme of the booth was to attract attention and to share AAPG's passion for geology with all students. We tried achieving that by making the booth as interactive as we could. Thus, we came up with the idea of putting hand specimens that visitors could see and examine closely, as well as the idea of the trivia game. The decoration of the stand was simple; however, it reflected our ideas effectively. There were two tables; on the main table, we had put different specimens of different rocks, minerals, and fossil samples. Members of the AAPG shared explanations of the significance of the samples. We hung some posters of geological sites in the UAE, which the members also explained to visitors. The second table was more interactive, hot drinks and stickers were given as hospitality. Visitors had the chance to answer a trivia question so they could win a prize. Prizes included minerals, seashells, and chocolate. There was also an experiment they could conduct, seeing the difference between calcite and dolomite by using HCl. Finally, after we piqued the interest of the visitors, we shared with them our AAPG program and what kind of events we will be having, and the benefits of joining. Omar Aldhanhani, one of our members who participated in the Imperial Barrel Award (IBA), explained more about the AAPG program and the IBA to the visitors.
As a team, all members performed their roles amazingly and established a tight relationship. Our members got to share and communicate with visitors improving their teamwork and communication skills. Also, AAPG was able to connect to different chapters and clubs for collaborations and possible future events. Finally, AAPG was able to set its standard as a high-quality chapter in Khalifa University, and how it is able to distinguish itself as a unique, hardworking committee.