High School: Natural History in Your Backyard

Connect to the natural history of wherever you are, both in the form of hands-on activities and providing tools for basic research, including databases of geologic maps and other publicly accessible info.

We live in the city of Dreams. Long before we were here, “here” was a different place. What is now mountains was once bays. What are now waterways were once the roots of ancient volcanoes. This class connects you to the natural history of wherever you are, both in the form of hands-on activities and providing tools for basic research, including databases of geologic maps and other publicly accessible info.  We learn both about our common shared heritage as inhabitants of earth and a little about one another’s.  Each course is tailored to the unique locations our students inhabit.

What You Will Learn

Students in High School: Natural History in Your Backyard will:

• Recognize common rock forming minerals in their neighborhood
• Identify faults and folds
• Understand the role of soil formation in the rock cycle and identify their local soil
• identify the connection between continent scale phenomenon and local geologic features
• Read and interpret geologic and topographic maps