Outreach - Teacher Training

Field Work
 

ESCI 515: Geophysical Field Work for Educators is a field course for K-12 teachers. We utilize geophysical technology, along with global positioning system (GPS) and geographic information systems (GIS), to examine a site of cultural or historical significance. Spaces in the summer course are limited and applications will be available in April of each year.

Past projects have included acquiring ground-penetrating radar data to locate unmarked graves in a derelict cemetery here in Houston. We received a great deal of publicity, including articles in Rice at Large, Rice News and the Houston Geological Society Bulletin. Stories about the project also aired on Houston Public Radio and KHOU Channel 11 (read the article or listen to the story - m3u file) .

For several summers, we have worked at a site in Prairie View, Texas, that contains an abandoned cemetery. In 2007, participants identified numerous anomalies, two of which were excavated by a team of archaeologists from Texas A&M and confirmed as burials. The results of our efforts were published in the Journal of History and Culture (pdf). In 2009, we returned for additional field work and recorded our efforts on video. .

We are on Facebook! If you are a science teacher in the Houston area, you are invited to
join our Facebook group "Houston Earth Science Teachers".

Past opportunities:
2009-2011 Professional Development PDF