DEEP-TIME, THE TEACHABLE MOMENT AT GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK

The Grand Canyon is a textbook in stone with its chapters open to anyone interested in geology. The objective of my project as an Association for Women Geoscientists 2002-03 Geologist in the Park was to help develop curriculum units that could be used for a new geology web page for the Grand Canyon National Park and the “Views of the National Parks” program. As part of my project I developed two units to help explain the scope of the canyon.

The first was based on the Cosmic Calendar developed by Dr. Carl Sagan and used on his documentary series COSMOS to explain the relatives ages of the sun and the planets by using the Big Bang as the starting point. I adapted this concept to start the calendar with the formation of the Earth.

The second was based on Charles and Ray Eames' film “The Powers of Ten”. In place of their starting point of a couple having a picnic in Chicago I outlined a video starting with a person standing along the Colorado River at Phantom Ranch. Following the same basic script each step outward and then inward would be by a factor of ten.

In this paper I am presenting these two units so that educators may use them as a way to help people off all ages appreciate this unique window into Earth's history.