EARTH SCIENCE WEEK UPDATE 
American Geosciences Institute Vol. 11, No. 10: October 2013
http://www.earthsciweek.org/ 

IN THIS ISSUE…
* Act Now to Win Award for Earth Science Teaching
* Classroom Activities Now Searchable Online
* Esri Blogs for Educators Mapping Out GIS Science
* Contest Winners to Be Announced Next Month
* Celebrate Earth Science With NASA Resources
* Post Your Photos Online From Earth Science Week
* Thanks to Earth Science Week’s Generous Sponsors
* Nuclear Regulators Tout Geoscience Careers Online
* Geologic Map Day Boosts Mapping Education
* National Fossil Day Event in DC Cancelled

SELECTED LINKS:

Classroom Activities Now Searchable Online

Ever wish you could go online to search for a classroom activity tailor-made to match the Earth science topic you’re teaching? Visit the continually updated Earth Science Week Classroom Activities page for more than 120 free learning activities, most of them contributed by the leading geoscience agencies and groups that are Earth Science Week partners.

Activities are organized and searchable by various criteria, including specific Earth science topics. To find the perfect activity for your lesson, just click on “Search Classroom Activities.” Search by grade level and science education standard. Maybe most useful, you also can search among 24 categories of Earth science topics, from energy and environment to plate tectonics and weathering.

This updated, database-driven resource is ideal not only for supplementing a prepared curriculum, but also for generating activities that address in-the-news events such as fossil discoveries and volcanic eruptions. See the Classroom Activities page athttp://www.earthsciweek.org/forteachers/classroomactivities.html.

Esri Blogs for Educators Mapping Out GIS Science

How can you explore the Earth Science Week 2013 theme of “Mapping Our World”? Start with longtime program partner Esri. Leading the charge to incorporate GIS (geographic information system) technology and mapping software in Earth science education, Esri is blogging to provide educators with useful resources and information during Earth Science Week 2013.

The first of the recent blog posts, issued just a few days ago, focuses ways that Esri is providing curriculum support for Earth Science Week, including related activities, lessons, data, and web maps (http://gisandscience.com). In addition, another recent blog on “Story Maps” shows how cutting-edge technology is revolutionizing the ways we create and use maps (http://blogs.esri.com/esri/esri-insider/).

GIS technology - which can illuminate features such as local geology, watersheds, and roads - can require some training before it can be used effectively. To learn more about GIS and Esri, see http://www.esri.com.

Celebrate Earth Science With NASA Resources
 
Throughout Earth Science Week 2013 and beyond, students of all ages can join NASA in celebrating the importance of maps to represent complex phenomena about our planet. A wealth of educational resources, blog posts, and other items can be found online (http://nasaesw.strategies.org).

For example, a new “Mapping Our World” sampler resource is available in both English and Spanish (http://nasaeswespanol.strategies.org/ciencias-terrestres-recursos-educativos-nasa-espanol/). And you are invited to participate in social media events to interact with NASA Earth explorers, see how they use mapping technologies in their research, and learn ways to use real data and images (http://nasaesw.strategies.org/events/).

See more: http://www.earthsciweek.org/

Nuclear Regulators Tout Geoscience Careers Online
EARTH SCIENCE WEEK UPDATE: Special Alert!
American Geosciences Institute - October 2012

Young people often don’t realize where Earth science careers might take them. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) employs more than 120 staff members who hold Earth science degrees or work in geoscience-related jobs - and the agency wants students to know about these exciting career opportunities.

In keeping with the Earth Science Week 2012 theme of “Discovering Careers in the Earth Sciences,” the NRC is developing a series of brief videos on geoscience careers for the NRC YouTube channel, “NRC Q&A Series: Three Minutes With NRC” ( http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEA958CAD9D2C854B).

The first video in the series, posted earlier this month, is “Three Minutes With an NRC Meteorologist” ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb2naxFcnVQ&feature=plcp). The second video, posted this week, is “Three Minutes With an NRC Hydrologist” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGyzn2DQo00&list=SPEA958CAD9D2C854B&index=6&feature=plpp_video). Upcoming videos are tentatively planned to cover structural and field geologists, seismologists and geophysicists, geotechnical engineers, geochemists, hydrogeologists, and other geoscientists.

In addition, the new NRC blog emphasizes the major disciplines of Earth science that are used in overseeing nuclear power - geology, geochemistry, geophysics, seismology, hydrology, engineering geology, marine science, atmospheric science, environmental science, and soil science. To learn more, view the NRC blog ( http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov/2012/10/16/nrc-earth-scientists-celebrate-earth-science-week-oct-14-20/) and watch the NRC chairman’s video about her experiences as an Earth scientist (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7-iLTQBidU&list=UU9FZGPhjQXkmcDbFgoomsDw&index=1&feature=plcp).

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The American Geosciences Institute is a nonprofit federation of 50 geoscientific and professional associations that represents more than 250,000 geologists, geophysicists and other earth scientists. Founded in 1948, AGI provides information services to geoscientists, serves as a voice of shared interests in the profession, plays a major role in strengthening geoscience education, and strives to increase public awareness of the vital role the geosciences play in society’s use of resources, resiliency to natural hazards, and interaction with the environment. For contact information, please visit http://www.earthsciweek.org/contactus/index.html.