INSTRUCTOR: "LET'S GO ON A FIELD TRIP!" STUDENT: "DO WE HAVE TO? HOW EARLY DOES IT START?"

As geology educators we all appreciate the importance of field trips. Field work is one of the reasons most of us chose geology as our profession. The excitement and fun of field geology is something we want our students to experience. You can “lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink”. So how do we “encourage” our students to participate in field trips? And what types of field experiences can we offer to our diverse student population?

I will describe some of the geological field experiences offered by St. Louis Community College. Programs discussed include credit courses in beginning earth science and more advanced geology courses, College for Kids, and Continuing Education. Field experiences run the gamut from thirty minute “dino digs” for elementary students, Paleozoic stratigraphy and fossil collecting around St. Louis, local structural geology, day trips to Missouri’s Ozark Mountains and week long field trips all over North America.